The rise of Big Lex

lorddulaarsenal

This guy is the real deal.

Has pretty much everything going for him. Age, attitude, physical ability, technique... he's top drawer.

He seems to be a hybrid of all the best bits of Pires, Hleb, Rosicky and Diaby 😆

Honestly, he's twice the player of some of the talked up kids like Dele Alli

Qwiss

He's unreal. If he keeps his form up all season he will be a shoe in for YPOTY.

Rohit

Wenger has done well to keep a lid on him. May be he progressed rapidly in the last season but the kid is just awesome.

Qwiss

Fair play to Wenger for sticking with him ahead if the likes of Ox too.

Irishgunner

Very smart player with a great touch, he's going to be a superstar.

Clrnc

Ox looks totally miserable on the bench. It's not only that Iwobi is ahead of him once he came back from injury, even Gibbs was introduce before him which must be sickening for Ox. His days looks numbered here unfortunately.

The more I look at his game, the more I think he functions like our Hleb in the past. His close control and dribbling helps us draw players in and create so much space for the others. He is much stronger in his end product too. He got that elasticity in his touches and the main thing about his game is clearly intelligence. When I first saw him in Singapore his intelligence stood out as compared to Akpom but you don't see the outstanding quality that makes you go wow. The Lyon game highlighted his finish prowess though. Wenger is right in how it takes time to see how good Iwobi is.

Savz

If only he could beat a man at speed he could be something special. Had a good game yesterday as did so many of the players.

Tam

He always seems to have so much time on the ball, or the ability to make himself the space and time he needs.

Segway

There's so much intelligence and precision to everything he does. You can tell that his teammates have full trust in him and they must love playing with him.

Wenger deserves a lot of credit for his development. I don't think anybody who watched Iwobi at youth level would have predicted his current rise.

Rex

Very exciting young player. Going to be interesting to follow him in his career.

Mirth

Segway wrote:
There's so much intelligence and precision to everything he does. You can tell that his teammates have full trust in him and they must love playing with him.

Wenger deserves a lot of credit for his development. I don't think anybody who watched Iwobi at youth level would have predicted his current rise.

I think most of us were disappointed that he was getting minutes ahead of Jef this time last season

Klaus

Love the bloke.

Bold Tone

Tam wrote:
He always seems to have so much time on the ball, or the ability to make himself the space and time he needs.

I think it comes from the instant control and balance which affords him the ability to go both ways on the dribble.
Add intelligent passing into the mix and the defenders have to think twice before committing.

Daz

He seems such a smart player. You can see the cogs turning every time he gets the ball, watching for the slightest movement of team mates and opposition players so he can make his next move. Great to watch.

FEBravo

It was Iwobi who stood out as Arsenal began to pass and move Chelsea out of this game. Upright and sure in possession with a lovely weight of pass, he grows in confidence as his best qualities seem more pronounced. Clearly Iwobi adores Özil, with whom, like an eager, hulking kid brother, he always looks to switch passes, staying close to him whenever Arsenal break. There are worse places for an apprentice 20-year-old attacking midfielder to be.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/sep/24/arsene-wenger-gift-arsenal-chelsea-ozil-football

Nice write-up overall as well

Burnwinter

He's a glorious talent, an intelligent athlete who can keep the ball and use the ball. He's making Walcott's good form look even better among other things.

This is the kind of breakthrough player you need to have a decent season, I'm very glad he's ours.

Big Willie

Mirth wrote:
I think most of us were disappointed that he was getting minutes ahead of Jef this time last season

Speak for yourself Mirth.

JazzG

Very good in attack but he does need to improve defensively. A few times he has left Monreal exposed, needs to improve that side of his game

Clrnc

Segway wrote:
I don't think anybody who watched Iwobi at youth level would have predicted his current rise.

If I am not wrong Ricky pretty much watched Iwobi throughout his youth days and didn't rate him as highly as some others. His quality really isn't apparent at the start.

Big Willie

He didn't get much game time but from his FA Cul debut at the beginning of the year it was quite clear the kid was something special.