Pulse Analysis: Where Iwobi will fit in at Arsenal under Emery
Pulse Sports look into what Iwobi's role will be in Arsenal under new manager Emery.
Five signings have been made, pre-season already started and currently with the squad in Singapore, the Unai Emery era at Arsenal has officially started.
When a new coach arrives at a club, a lot of changes are expected, from formations to training sessions to the players who will be retained and those who will be told to go.
Emery’s arrival at Arsenal has already had some casualties and some winners. Fans’ favourite Jack Wilshere has already left after being told he won’t feature prominently in the plans of the new manager.
Some players have been given renewed hope over their Arsenal future. Calum Chambers and Granit Xhaka have signed new contracts while Emery is trying to convince Aaron Ramsey to sign a new deal.
Some, however, are still in the dark over their futures but while nothing has been confirmed, the signs are there that Iwobi has a future at the club.
Hope for Iwobi
Pulse Sports earlier reported that Emery ordered Iwobi to cut his holiday by one week so he could join the squad for their pre-season tour of Singapore.
According to sources, Iwobi has been told that he will feature prominently in Emery’s plan and just over the weekend, the UK Mirror reported that the 22-year-old has been offered a new deal at Arsenal.
These reports if true are clear signs that Iwobi still has a future at Arsenal, but where will he fit in under Emery?
Emery is a huge fan of the 4-2-3-1 which he used at his time in La Liga and the straightforward 4-3-3 he predominantly used at Paris Saint-Germain.
In Emery's 4-3-3
Iwobi is familiar with these two formations which were being used by Arsene Wenger when he first burst into the Arsenal first team.
The 4-3-3 was Emery’s most recent favourite, the set-up he used with lots of high pressing and high defensive line. Emery loves his men to play from the back and dominate possession.
In this system, Iwobi could play from the left, like he did in the first half of the 2016/2017 season. Although he prefers to play as a No. 10, Iwobi’s strengths also make him effective playing from the left where he cuts into midfield to exploits pockets of spaces.
If he is not drifting inside, he is cutting to this strong right foot to play a defence-splitting pass across the opponent's 18-yard-box.
Iwobi’s abilities from this position can be highlighted from Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Chelsea that season.
Arsenal’s second goal of that game typifies Iwobi’s strength from the left. He exchanged passes with Mesut Ozil, drifted more into the middle and played a fine pass to an overlapping Hector Bellerin who squad for Theo Walcott to score.
In Emery's 4-2-3-1
It's Emery’s classic 4-2-3-1 where it will be pretty difficult for the Nigerian player to get game time.
In this system which Emery used during his time in Spain, there is a slot of only one attacking midfielder which is Mesut Ozil or Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Iwobi is third in the pecking order here.
In summary, it’s all looking good for Iwobi at Arsenal under Emery. This is a player who has the required skill set to succeed under a manager who has a good track record of developing players.
After hitting a wall under Wenger, Emery’s obsessive micromanagement and personal player tracking system of management is exactly what Iwobi needs.
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