Nigerian football has seen its own fair share of raw talents who have failed to live up to their hype. These young footballers start brightly and look like they have no limit, then all of a sudden, drop and never live up to the expectation of millions of football lovers. There are several factors that cause this drop, some of these factors are: indiscipline, health issues and age cheating, but in spite of these factors, there is still hope for the future of Nigerian football, and perhaps the next Jay-Jay Okocha or Kanu Nwankwo will emerge and serve the national team for years.

Alex Iwobi is the latest new hope of Nigerian football. He is dubbed the new Jay-Jay Okocha, who is arguably one of the best talents to ever come out of Nigeria.

Introduction:

Alex Iwobi was born in Lagos, Nigeria on the 3rd of May 1996. He is 5ft 11in tall. Iwobi joined Arsenal at an early age, while he was still in primary school. He is a nephew to former Nigerian captain and superstar Austin Jay-Jay Okocha. Key to Iwobi committing to Nigeria was being convinced by his uncle (Jay -Jay), Nwankwo Kanu and his father on the pride and honour representing the country of your birth brings.

Positions Played

Alex Iwobi has play several forward roles, some of which are; Centre forward, Left Wing, Right Wing and Attacking Midfield. The reason for this is that when Iwobi was coming through the ranks at Hale End, he played several positions from full-back the striking position before the academy coaches discovered the best position for him.

Football Career:

England:

Alex has played for England at all age grade competitions, featuring for the 3 lions at the u16, u17, and u18 teams. He made his debut for the English under 16 side in 2011, having 7 appearances, scoring just 1 goal. He further played for the English u17 side ( making 3 appearances without scoring a goal) and the under 18 side ( making 2 appearances without scoring a goal).

Club Team:

Alex Iwobi played for Arsenal's u18 and u19 team in the 2013/2014 season. He scored a total of 8 goals in 35 matches. After impressing the club, he stepped up to the u21 side the following season (2014/2015) where he captained the side.

Alex Iwobi made his competitive debut for Arsenal FC on 27 October 2015, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Round of 16 of the League Cup. He made his Premier League debut four days later, appearing as a substitute against Swansea City. He was also a member of the squad that travelled to Asia for pre-season and scored a goal against Lyon in the Emirates cup.

National Team:

He made his debut for the Super Eagles in the 2 -0 loss against Congo in Belgium, and also came on as a substitute in Nigeria's win against cameroun some days later.

Strengths:

Iwobi is very versatile, as he can play on the left, right wing.

His Physicality and power is a strong asset.

He is very fast(pace) and hungry for goals.

He can use both feet to score goals, with very good instincts as he always knows where he wants to put the ball anytime he is in the box.

Weakness:

His long or short passing game isn't too strong.

What Can Iwobi Improve on?

Iwobi can improve on his body movement when running with the ball facing a defender 1 on 1 to easily evade his marker.

What Does the future hold:

What Alex Iwobi has going for him is that he is under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, one of the best managers at developing young players. Arsene Wenger has a track record of that and once he spots you, the sky is your limit as long as he is ready to keep learning.

Arsene Wenger has already praised the youngster for his attitude and movement. He also feels Iwobi's strengths make it easy for him to fit into Arsenal's style of play.
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