The rise of Big Lex: Page 2 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

The rise of Big Lex

GooneriC

Most thought Jeff would be the one to make the step up , given his excellent preseason a while back. Iwobi at the time seemed slow and unsure , i dont think anyone saw him raising his level in such a short space of time.

Qwiss

Its not really an either or with Iwobi and Jeff. Theres 2 years between them, give Jeff a chance to catch up. People just got over excited about Jeff because of social media hype and expected too much too soon.

Sicario

We are quite fortunate he chose to play for Nigeria instead of England. Imagine the hype if he was 'English'? As we have seen with the likes of Theo, The Ox and Jack, that hype usually equates to unrealistic expectation and therefore massive disappointments.

Having said that, does that mean we are going to lose him to the African Nations Cup in Jan?

Rohit

JazzG wrote:
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

That's the general sentiment but Iwobi doesn't come across as lazy, lacking concentration or stamina.

It's probably harder for us to spot on TV but there was a blog by a regular match goer who pointed out that Iwobi keeps tucking inside a lot to make our midfield more compact. We are essentially playing a 2 in midfield as Ozil rarely drops deep when we don't have possession. Against teams playing 3 in the middle Iwobi adds support in the middle.

Rex

Nigeria didn't qualify for Cup of Nations?

Meatwad

Sicario wrote:
We are quite fortunate he chose to play for Nigeria instead of England. Imagine the hype if he was 'English'? As we have seen with the likes of Theo, The Ox and Jack, that hype usually equates to unrealistic expectation and therefore massive disappointments.

Having said that, does that mean we are going to lose him to the African Nations Cup in Jan?

it usually equates to them coming back from their england training camps after being bombarded with nonsense from their internationally unaccomplished teammates about the position they SHOULD be playing. iwobi would be hearing about how arsenal should be playing him as a "number 10" because that's his real position and where he wants to play.

innervisionscm

We needed a player like this to emerge - intelligent with the ball, solid technique and ball control, good decision making. Not sure how high his ceiling is but happy he's doing what he's doing right now.

Mirth

@alexiwobi
It's A Team Sport ;

Once The Team Is Performing Well , Individuals Shine !!

Remember That ✌?️

banduan

Rohit wrote:
That's the general sentiment but Iwobi doesn't come across as lazy, lacking concentration or stamina.

It's probably harder for us to spot on TV but there was a blog by a regular match goer who pointed out that Iwobi keeps tucking inside a lot to make our midfield more compact.

He tucks inside both ends of the pitch, which is a problem when they double up on Monreal on the flank.

Art

Is he first choice now or are we expecting Ramsey to take his place outwide? Ramsey is better defensively and in terms of end product, but Iwobi seems so much better technically.

Anyway all the best youngsters we've been developing recently seem to have been ones coming through our academy, who was the last young player we bought that worked out?

Bold Tone

Ramsey will probably take Cazorla's place in CM as Coquelin is injured and i'm not convinced he is good on the left.
e: Xhaka at the fulcrum with Ramsey playing box to box.

Gazza M

It's been a while since we had some african excellence in the side. Iwobi has been one of the best surprises of the last year

Anzac

Meatwad wrote:
Sicario wrote:
We are quite fortunate he chose to play for Nigeria instead of England. Imagine the hype if he was 'English'? As we have seen with the likes of Theo, The Ox and Jack, that hype usually equates to unrealistic expectation and therefore massive disappointments.

Having said that, does that mean we are going to lose him to the African Nations Cup in Jan?

it usually equates to them coming back from their england training camps after being bombarded with nonsense from their internationally unaccomplished teammates about the position they SHOULD be playing. iwobi would be hearing about how arsenal should be playing him as a "number 10" because that's his real position and where he wants to play.

TBH he's essentially more wide playmaker than winger or WF, and he comes inside to both work with Ozil as seen for the 2nd goal v CFC by providing an option in the half space both between the lines and threatening the channels. This is exactly the sort of role and style I'd have expected to see had we signed Mkhitaryan, and as such Iwobi is taking his opportunity much as Bellerin did re Debuchy's injuries. Goals would be nice and will eventually come, but they are really an added bonus rather to his current role.

goon

Clrnc wrote:
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.

Wenger pretty much said the same, it's easy to miss his ability.

Mirth

goon wrote:
Clrnc wrote:
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.

Wenger pretty much said the same, it's easy to miss his ability.

His ability is fine - but what really stands out is his intelligence and understanding of his teammates.

Anzac

banduan wrote:
Rohit wrote:
That's the general sentiment but Iwobi doesn't come across as lazy, lacking concentration or stamina.

It's probably harder for us to spot on TV but there was a blog by a regular match goer who pointed out that Iwobi keeps tucking inside a lot to make our midfield more compact.

He tucks inside both ends of the pitch, which is a problem when they double up on Monreal on the flank.

Not if it is a team tactic to 'sacrifice' the flanks.
IIRC Monreal made a comment in recent seasons - possibly after a win V ManU (but not 'that' win?),
where he said that the defensive strategy in our defensive 3rd had been to remain compact to control the centre whilst conceding the flanks as it's harder to score from out wide (and a cross is a low % play).

QuincyAbeyie

Thought he was pretty mediocre for the first few matches, but he's been great since. If he continues like this he should start every game.

USArsenal

I do think he needs to give a bit more help to Monreal.. Its nice that we talk about tucking inside to help the middle, but getting crosses in from the flanks into our box is more dangerous to us, since we pretty much suck at defending them (though, maybe Mustafi addition will help that)..

He has everything in his locker except experience and raw speed (he can certainly work on speed, and experience comes with games). He will never have Theo/Ox pace, but if he added 10% onto his quickness, that would be devastating to defenses.

Quincy - yes, he was more mediocre in our first 2 matches.. BUT - that can really be said about 90% of our team.. we were't really up to speed in our first couple games, for sure

Gurgen

I'm more worried about his stamina than his speed. I think that's also the reason why he doesn't track back as much. Other than that I think he's a very complete footballer and the only thing that could stop him from becoming a world class footballer is injuries or himself.

QuincyAbeyie

I really don't think you should worry about the stamina of a 20-year-old. Is there literally anything easier to improve than that?

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