Nigeria winger Alex Iwobi admits it is time he raise his game and fulfil his potential, reports Completesports.com
Iwobi, 24, has failed to lived up to the hype he received as youngster breaking through at Arsenal.
The versatile winger linked up with Everton last summer in a £35m move.
He has suffered a stop-start season due to hamstring problems and has not scored since September.
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Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger predicted Iwobi would become a ‘top-class’ player during his early years at the club , but Iwobi , nephew of Bolton legend Austin Jay Jay Okocha is yet to lived up to hype.
‘I’m no longer that young prospect, that young talent,’ Iwobi was quoted by the Daily Mail.
‘I have to show why there was so much hype about me. The only way you can do that is in games. I feel I’m at that time in my career when I need to start doing that. I need to up my stats a bit more, improve a bit more.
‘That will come. I’m looking forward to restarting the season so I can prove myself.’
Iwobi is expected to be in action when Everton take on Liverpool on Sunday (today) in a Premier League game at the Goodison Park.
By Adeboye Amosu
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COMMENTS
God bless ur plans
You have got abundance talent Alexander D king Iwobi. Just get angry n let the fire burn fiercely. That football anger is VERY VERY IMPORTANT, just about what made Gatuso known world wide.
As they do say; the solution starts when you’ve discovered the problem, and you begin to take immediate action(I added).
All the Best Iwobi
I guess the article and the theatre of football it is relating to has to be put in context.
The interview was conducted by England’s Daily Mail and was relating specifically to the English Premer League and more to the point, the current season.
Make no mistake about it, for Nigeria’s Super Eagles, Iwobi is living up to the hype (big time) and the figures are out there to prove it.
Having started out as a feeble winger, Iwobi has now created a niche for himself in the centre attacking midfield position for Nigeria with powerful performances in big games.
But yes, for Everton this season, Iwobi is struggling to live up to his huge price-tag. His stats of 2 goals and just 1 assist in 22 games across all competitions make for very grim reading – not what you’d expect from a £27.3 million rated player. Coming from Arsenal with a lot to prove, Iwobi was expected to hit the ground running in Everton but that hasn’t been the case.
But I think Iwobi shouldn’t allow that to bog him down.
“I need to up my stats a bit more, improve a bit more.” Said Iwobi in the article above.
The truth is that behind the stats lie a footballer who toils very (very) hard for his team. There are a lot of things that stats don’t capture, like ‘endeavour’.
If you look at Iwobi’s heat-map, you will see that he covers a lot of grounds in league matches which emphasises his hard work and tireless dedication. Those should not be overlooked.
Now that he has committed to improving his stats, I forsee a new, refreshed and reinvigorated Iwobi for the rest of the season and beyond.
@deo, i hear what you’re saying and I like Iwobi’s commitment to the cause but please don’t mistake “endeavor” for performance. I believe it was Ruud Gullit that was shown the running stats of a player who ran almost 10 miles (or something like that) during a game; he went on to ask if the player knew how to play football.
While running may show commitment to the cause, what’s more important is what you do when you have the ball. Based on Iwobi’s position, he’s mainly expected to initiate attacks, provide assists, and score goals. These have been lacking at everton this season. Alex is acknowledging this in this interview and I agree with him that his game and end product needs upping.
Truth is while all the “endeavor” is commendable, everton didnt pay 70+ million to bring in only endeavor. All the same I’m wishing him all the best and hope to see him step his game to the next level
Lord AMO, thank you so much for your feedback. I agree with you, actually. I guess by endeavour, I use that as an umbrella term to encompass variables like passion, desire, willingness and drive.
A motivational speaker once told me that I could achieve anything I set my mind to so long as I have ‘desire’ and ‘strategy’.
Iwobi has the desire, he has the passion, he has the energy, most of all, he has the right work ethics.
For me in this context, that is what I choose to term ‘endeavour’.
What he needs now is the right strategy to unlock his huge potentials.
He did it at Arsenal. For all the flack and criticisms that came his way in North London, he did create modest goal scoring opportunities.
But he is capable of a lot more (and he himself knows it).
I want to believe Iwobi will come good at Everton.
Iwobi has it in him, I believe he is the one holding himself back. He has had lots of time to develop his game but still acts like a,new academy discovery. He needs to be more serious, energetic, eager , ready to do all it takes to be a force to reckon with and to justify his place in the Everton team, otherwise he wont only lose his place at club level but also at the national team level. Players like ejaria and eze are being penned down to play for the super eagles and if they decide to come to Nigeria who do you think will lose their place in the team?
This everton team I m watching is absolute rubbish. Looks like a really wrong move for Iwobi. Team that cant string passes for 3 minutes before losing the balĺ haba…