Friday, March 29, 2024

Alex Iwobi leaves Arsenal, signs for Everton

Alex Iwobi has left Arsenal to join Everton in a deal worth up to £40 million.

News broke yesterday of the Toffees interest in the Nigeria international and it was reported that we rejected a first offer of £30 million.

Having failed to sign Wilfried Zaha, the Merseysiders decided to return with a better offer on deadline day and, somewhat surprisingly, we accepted, with a £28m fee reported rising to £40m based on appearances and achievements.

Iwobi has been on the club’s books since he was at primary school and has scored 15 goals and made 27 assists in 149 appearances.

At the end of a window that has seen us break our transfer record and shop more widely, it looks as though we’ve taken the opportunity to sell Iwobi to balance the books.

It’s no secret we’d probably rather have sold Mesut Ozil or Henrikh Mkhitaryan but with their enormous wages that was always going to be tough.

If the figures being quoted are correct, Alex Iwobi will be Arsenal’s record departure ahead of Marc Overmars, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nicolas Anelka and Cesc Fabregas.

Good luck to him at Everton.

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TheLimpBar

Always loved Iwobi, and always love to see players come through our setup like him. Gutted to see him go but good luck to him, hope he always gets a great reception when he comes back.

Rochester

Came here to say the same. Good luck Alex, I’ll miss the nutmegs

Goon4life

Once a goon always a goon, gl to you Alex. Hopefully we slapped a sale on clause for good measure.

Jason

I have always liked his play, I hope he does well. Good luck

SB Still

I think that’s the impact of missing out on CL.

I think most of incomings would have been same/similar except maybe spending big on CB. However, I think we sold Iwobi to balance the books for EL revenue. Ofcourse we would have loved to have moved on Mhki but no takers I suppose!

Joe

Ugh. I would rather we kept Iwobi, not bought Pepe or Luiz, and spent the balance on a really good CB.

CHIBS

I think Iwobi was sold because he’s not the most fleet footed defender and he’s not Yet the best less mobile CM . And we’re only going for the best or potential of best. If Raul is going for Love I hope he gets us The Jeff back. I’ve not see a lot about him but That dude has the tools to be a successful Diaby

db10s

And end up like united? No thanks. A lot of puzzle pieces were bought this summer that were missing in the team. Both short and long term.

Punter

All the best Iwobi. One of our own, would have been great if he had stepped up at Arsenal but didn’t happen.

Lula

I liked Iwobi a lot. But I felt he didn’t improve last year. I might be wrong but it seems like the right level, we need more space to develop younger talents and we obviously need the money. Win-win for us and it might improve Iwobi’s game.

Best of luck to him in every game except when it matters to us.
He was a favourite of mine.

OnlyBeingHonest

i thought his improvement last year was drastic!

Mac the gunner

Mixed feelings, but it’s a fee too good to turn down and gives more opportunities to the next gen

All the best Alex, I was always a fan

HelderHughes

Always sad to move a true gooner on. But if we are being brutally honest, he was never quite the standard we need to push on.

Best of luck to him and time to step up Martinelli, Nelson and Saka. Hoping for plenty of game time for our crazy talented young lads now.

Reality check

He had his chances, coaches must not have been completely convinced i guess. Goes missing and not enough end product. Martinelli and Nelson are probably better bets I suppose.

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

Raul, Edu and Unai bought Pépé and fans are ready to approve anything they do.

Scourge of Goooner

Definitely never saw him go missing. On the contrary, when the whole team imagination used to go missing, he was usually the only bright sparks trying to make things happen.

End product never reached top class levels, so no the biggest loss, but he was definitely much higher up in the pecking order to someone like Mikhitaryan.

Sad to see him go.

Glocken

40 million is a great deal for Iwobi. He hasn’t really improved over the last two years & his final pass & finishing is lacking. We have exciting direct players like Martinelli, Nelson, Pepe & who are all chomping at the bit to make their mark at the club.

Selling Ozil or Miki might have been a preferred sale but no one will pay their wages. If this sale permits the purchases of Tierney & Luiz & gives the above a chance to play in the first team I’ll take it.

Sauce

Really?? Iwobi hasn’t improved in the last 2years?
When did he even break into the first team??
Its easy to jump on the bandwagon but come on, the lads just 22. Good squad player IMO and I’m sure the club think so too, but 40m was just too good to turn down considering our business done

Glocken

He made his debt (against Everton funny enough) about four seasons ago. In the last three seasons he’s scored nine goals, for an attacking player that’s really not good enough.

At 23 you would think he would have pushed on & been the number one choice on the left hand side but he’s not. I personally haven’t seen anything from him to suggest that he will improve in the future.

It’s a good deal for everyone.

Website

Yes to selling Mikhi, but l think ozil still has something to contrbute, especially this season with added firepowers upfront he can feed to.

Gunnerali

Not sure this is a good move but time will tell

RIcky

He was average, best place for him.

Naked Cygan

I agree, I feel maybe we could have pushed for 50-60 million. He is still very young, experienced in England, and qualifies as British base player.

Don't boo Paul Davis

Gutted. He was a very good player and he cared.

wengerloski

Honestly, I would have wished to see him stay!

Carlos Fella

Decent bloke, always worked hard. Good luck Alex!

Duno

Bittersweet night but mostly sweet! I hope he goes on to become world class! Take care of him Everton. Once a gooner always….

Merlin's Panini

I’m disappointed by this. He has room for improvement at 23 and was a really strong squad player. I get that we have Nelson, ESR, Pepe, Lacazette, Auba, Mkhi who can all play that left wing position but I liked Iwobi a lot. £28 million doesn’t seem that good a deal for us. I thought £40 million was about acceptable.

CHIBS

We are speculating in the deal. Maybe it could rise to (or past) 40m with some sure statistics and maybe to reward our patience and investment we insert a sell-on clause for our 23 year old potential ‘worldbeater’ . Sounds to me like a happy deal both ways

Futsboller

Yeah, 28 million (+add ons) does not seem enough to me for a guy that has played that much in the PL, is big, strong, a good dribbler, and only 23 years old, with lots of potential to realize yet. I hope and pray we play well enough this season to forget some of the recent departures, but Iwobi could have taken another big step forward with our renewed focus on the attack.

Mike22122

Personally I’d rather take 28 with a hefty sell on clause or buy back clause than the pure money especially if a chunk is based on performance.

kaius

I get the critiques about Alex as a footballer, I share some of them myself. What makes this painful is Alex Iwobi bleeds Arsenal the same way Jack Wilshere and Carl Jenkinson do. He’s been a Gooner since he was 7 ffs. I think people always overlook that about him.

Meanwhile wasters like Mustafi and Mkhitaryan get to stay because their performance levels and massive contracts mean no-one really wants them. It’s messed up.

Anyway, thank you Alex, for the magical nutmegs, and for being such a good role model for the other academy lads coming through.

Mintoes

Fair point, but at the same time he’s had plenty of opportunity last few seasons to become first name on the team sheet guy and he’s just not been able to kick on…

kaius

He did kick on. That’s why we’re getting 35-40m for him in a market where no-one wants to pay for our squad players.

Ask yourself who you’d rather keep as a squad player if we didn’t need the cash? Alex or Mkhi?

Ealing

You can only sell what people want to buy

Mintoes

In all honesty…possibly Mikhi! Just don’t see iwobi contributing much, blows hot and cold all the time. And with all the other kids on the edge of coming thru then why keep him and prevent better talents from their shot? 35 mil imo, is superb business for us.

Akari

Mkhi was a better player, not anymore. HE is more two-footed but in terms of getting passed players, protecting the ball, weighted passes and pre-assist Iwobi is tops.

John C

Mkhitaryan is a better player just his wages are ridiculous so doesn’t represent value for money

Andre Santos' car keys

Mkhi was a better player certainly. Maybe not anymore. I think he’s lost his inspiration.

Mintoes

I don’t think he did kick on…not enough anyway. Mhki is a level above still. And the younger guys coming thru deserve their shot now. 35 mil is good business for us.

Futsboller

Huh? He just turned 23, and we’re going through a massive transition at the club in which the coach was chopping and changing pretty regularly last season. Iwobi was actually quite good last season, all things considered, and might well have blossomed with more stability in the style we play under Emery. Despite management’s talk of valuing academy graduates and the Arsenal way, that avenue looks to head through the exit door.

John C

He played 150 games for us, had plenty of chances and we deemed him not quite good enough. That’s the life of a professional footballer.

What i find really bizarre is assertion that if he only added end product to his game he’d be a good player. That’s like saying if Mustafi could just learn to defend he’d be a good player. The bit he’s missing is the bit we need.

We’ve received a lot of money for a player that hasn’t improved the areas of his game he’s needed too despite having 3 seasons to do so.

Futsboller

If the figure is 40 million, as quoted by Blogs, then that is good money; but I’ve been reading 28 million with potential add-ons (rising to 34 max), which is significantly less.

The thing is that Iwobi seems just a step away from completing his game — a little more patience and we’d have another home-grown hero. Pepe, I gather, is the finished product – that’s 72 million. I see reasons in there, both financial and footballing ones, to have given Iwobi more time with us.

John C

Sorry but £28m rising to £34m is still good business.

If he was a top class 23 year old on the brink of becoming world class he’d be going to Real Madrid or Barcelona for £128m but he isn’t.

Too many people on here have invested too much emotional capital on him to form a rational and honest appraisal of his talent, which is a level or 2/3/4 below what we need it to be.

Ya gooner

Not happy about this, we should have got at least 45m. We got xhaka for 35 and sold chambo for 35 all before the transfer market prices went crazy. I think he’ll do really well at everton if they play him in his natural position. Only plus is that he could take points off our rivals (and us but we have 4 rivals and we’re only one so potentially could contribute to -9 to rivals and only -3 for us I know this isn’t how it works but oh well). Generally however I’m pretty damn happy about our business this… Read more »

HelderHughes

Books need balancing. Mkhi and Ozil can’t be moved. Not many other players in the squad with any inherent value. You want Pepe, you have to make a sacrifice here or there.

Laca-Sead

Make some resent Ozil even more. Useless overpaid coward. Hope it free space for Nelson to blossom. Goodbye Sir Iwobi.

jon

Coward?

Dre

Chill out mate

A P

@Laca-sead, aren’t you just some random, anonymous keyboard warrior?

Joe

Give me iwobi, keep pepe and ruiz, use the 50 mil left over on a CB.

Papa Pepe’s PEA Party

It seems to be a little unpopular at present but I’m also sad to see him go. I know we’ve been saying it for a while but it really does feel like he’s on the verge of something big, whether that’s staying on the wing or moving to a more central role, only time will tell. I will miss those games where he bursts on and enthuse everyone to pick up a seemingly lost cause, he really did shine in games where the challenge seemed too much for most others, and that’s a damn respectable trait. On the plus side… Read more »

Ealing

Not a word wrong! ! Up up up!@

Kolkata_Gooner

Gonna miss him. Good luck to you big man. First Theo, and now Iwobi…I definitely have a soft spot for Everton now. Just don’t play well against us, that’s all I ask!

Robin

Anybody else feel like this will come back to bite us? Still feel like he has massive potential, thought he came on a lot last season under Emery. Really sad to see him go

loose_cannon

Not sure why this has so many downvotes, he does have a lot of potential still. The only thing you would say though is that the money was too good to turn down for a player that, talented as he is, hasn’t really kicked on yet.

FanniboyWelbz

Who would of known his last contribution to the club was that amazing goal he scored in the Europa League final. I admired the guy, came from youth, and always worked hard. Best of luck to him at Everton.

MacHans

I feel bad about this now!

Alex

150 appearances. 15 goals. Enough said.

Laca-Sead

5 of them just lat year. He was getting better. his overall contribution was largely improved last year. You can manipulate numbers to make them talk. Reminds me of a muppet who became American President or maybe it is the English prime minister.

goonero

Good for Thomas Vermaelen, bad for a forward player. I like Iwobi but his lack of end product means he was never going to be more than an ok player for us.

Joe

The correct headline productivity measures for an attacking mid are non-penalty goals plus assists per 90 and expected npg+a/90. Also relevant are dribbles, deep progressions, and box entries. FOH with that simplistic analysis.

John C

It’s not very difficult to work out his goals per 90 given the numbers he’s provided is it?

Frank Bascombe

Lovely kid. Not really that good though.

John

Good business. Alex is an honest but limited player, and just doesn’t have the stats to strike fear in opposition defences.

atom

He’s better than most fans realize, but Pepe looks to be an upgrade & effectively only cost 32m thanks to this sale. Smart business – hope he does well but not well enough to push them into the top 4! The past 2 summer windows have been really solid IMO as we’ve been able to now reshape the team into a largely younger team with the ability to press. There’s still work to do but given what an absolute mess the club was in even 12 months ago, a lot of progress has been made. Virtually our entire starting team… Read more »

Dave Cee

Yes..got to hand it to Raul and Unai..they are really trying to make a difference. A much needed difference

Dat guy

Not a fan of this move by the club. Got better every season, is still very young, and is very versatile in where he can play on the field. I think we might come to regret this down the line but at least we still have some youth to take his place. Best of luck to him and I hope he does well (except against us)

Santori

This really infuriates me. Absolutely agree. We are not mitigating risk. Iwobi hardly an ancillary player like say Mhkiatryan. Say if Pepe gets injured, we are left with rookie Nelson. We should have kept Iwobi for one more season at very least. This is a developing player who last season provided (in concert with Klasinac) some of our best attacking play from left side (in fact we were heavily lobsided with little threat from right) Now with Iwobi, we get a chance to balance out the threat but instead we do ourselves in. Some will point to Nelson but in… Read more »

Prakhar

Most unlikely Arsenal boy to ever succeed.

YOU ARE OUR LAD FOREVER.
Some might be frustrated.
But you are our LAD FOREVER.

James

Unlikely?! His Uncle is Jay Jay Okocha! I’d say he had the best chance of anyone

Kareem

@James

He wasn’t really pulling up trees in his formative years compared to his peers.
But he really stepped up from Junior to Senior football, even if he did stagnate after that.

Oli

I wish he’d produced sooner

StuArse

I am personally a bit disappointed Alex has left, but I can understand why Arsenal sanctioned his sale. We now have Pepe and 2 youngsters coming through and needed to recoup some money. I am a bit worried about our ‘plan b’ though. Iwobi was one of the few in the squad that was physical enough to be an out ball, hold it up and relieve pressure. I also think it’s sad to lose a true Arsenal lad having made it through from the academy. Having said that, he was never first on the teamsheet and we can’t blame Arsenal… Read more »

Der Kaiser

Very mixed feelings over one of our talented homegrown who always gave 100 per cent players leaving.

Winger or number 10?

Hope Alex gets the run of games uninjured and just adds a little to the ” end product”.

All the very best Alex and sincerely wish you all the success.

Man

No. 8

Drogheda Gunner

I think he has higher potential in the middle rather than out wide. Its just that final ball thats lacking but that the difference from being average to being great

Hectorious

The fee was too good to turn down especially given the amount of alternative options we have up top but very sad to see him go. Excellent technical ability, worked his socks off, loved the club and all the potential to be a top class player.. when he first broke into the team we all saw the qualities he has to offer. You have to appreciate how important confidence is for any player, especially a young attacking player and unfortunately large sections of our fan base got on his back unfairly and prematurely… wish our fans had a bit more… Read more »

BigArse

Good Luck Alex. I wouldn’t have sold him but perhaps because I’m a sentimental optimist who isn’t great at budgeting.

9jagunner

Alex Iwobi has lots of talent but he’s never taken it to the next level his decision-making and final ball has always been okay

His last 3 seasons in PL

16/17- 26 games 3 goals
17/18- 26 games 3 goals
18/19- 35 games 3 goals

£40million is a massive win?

Ray Smuckles

Agreed. He’s a very likeable guy (rare in modern football) and works his ass off. I think people underestimate his contribution to the team and ability to follow the coaches instructions. However, the reality is he lacks that attacking instinct and the lack of finishing is noticeable for someone who plays that position. That makes this a really good deal for Arsenal.

Cygans Parting

Best of luck to you on the blue half of Merseyside Alex. Once a Gooner always a Gooner!!!
We’ll miss you but Everton are a club with good values and I’m sure uncle Theo will look after you.

John Wendt

thank god. He was so mediocre ffs. I couldn’t stand him.

Henkamp

Good! You got your wish; he is gone now. Now, just shush!

Lord Bendnter

There is an amazing footballer hiding there in him. We forget Iwobi is still quite young. I hope he can get the right coaches and managers to instill confidence in his final touch and decision making and bring out the best in him. I am quite confident he will still turn out to mature into a brilliant player.
Best wishes to him, hope he makes a big name for himself.
Thanks for the memories

Richie

BBC reporting the transfer is only worth up to £34 million maximum.

GoonerMac

Agreed good money….always supported the boy but we have got enough up front…..potentially the best in the league…….so go with our blessing and put a couple past the sp*urs please!

Arsebjørn

This genuinely breaks my heart.

geek_gonner

Saliba, Caballos, PEPE, Tierney, Luiz and most importantly getting rid of Iwobi for 40 (freaking 40!). Edu is a real deal. Best transfer window ever.

TOGooner

I like him as a person a lot. He has good qualities as a player, great technically, but I always found him a bit toothless. I don’t like how he gets the ball and then stops cold, then tries to dribble around. Hes quick but he doesn’t quicken the play. He’s vision is too narrow. He lacks dynamism, is what I’m saying, because wingers must be exciting and he’s not an exciting player to watch. Maybe there’s a player in him who should have been getting a massive number of assists and drawing penalties after penalty. He should have been… Read more »

Ozenal

Iwobi and Welbevk out, Martinelli and Pepe in. Good business.

Ozenal

Finally square pets square holes

jon

He played 15 years for Arsenal, and in a couple of matches last season he was our best player. All the best, Alex! I really hope Emery knows what he’s doing.

KingThroughBall

I think we might regret this signing. I think this will be the season where he finds his feet.

Manu petits left peg

Hard working dribbler with pace. I fear this is a bad deal for us but we’re skint and have already spunked the cash on other players so needed to bring money in.Shows also that we can’t find deals for busted mikhi, mercurial wizard Oz, or mouldy musti……

kas

How does this dross ‘mikhi, mercurial wizard Oz, or mouldy musti……’ have the front to turn up & claim there wages every week/month. Disgusting.

Wezza

A proper Gooner who lived the dream most of us have.
The interview with him and Welbeck cracking up will stay with me for a long time.
A hat trick of own goals against us and a hat trick of brilliance against the Spuds please
Good luck to you Alex.

DBMÖ10

Mocked Celtic the whole day , turns out one of your leaving rightfully leaves you in tears.
All the best Alex score plenty and assist Walcott in downing the other top 6.

DBMÖ10

*own

Fatgooner

This is good news for both Alex and the club. He was never quite good enough to play for us and was wasting his time and ours. His final ball and his finishing were below the standards that you would expect for a team with aspirations of top-level success. I hope he improves at Everton but I doubt he will. He belongs right alongside another ex-Arsenal mediocrity: Theo Walcott. Overall, it’s been a bad transfer window for us. The objectives at the end of last season were to: (a) bring in three quality defenders; (b) bring in an attacking midfielder… Read more »

Niran

Go get a chill pill then get your coat

John C

It’s been a good transfer window for a number of reasons. First i think our defence has improved. Only anti-Chelsea tribalism would make you believe Koscielny is better player than David Luis and Tierney by all due accounts isn’t only an excellent player but also brings with him leadership and fighting qualities we’ve long been missing. Secondly i never thought it realistic that either Ozil, Mkhitaryan or Mustafi would leave as their wages would scare off other clubs and the idea of paying them to play for someone else seemed like cutting off our nose to spite of own face.… Read more »

CarlosLA

Honestly I’m delighted by this. Not because of anything particular about Iwobi — he was a decent squad player who lacked the final ball. I’m delighted because this shows in no uncertain terms that the Raul era is here and the era of absurd sentimentality (and crippling socialist wage structures) are banished along with the old man who ushered them in.

Not good enough to push us forward but tempting enough for the Evertons of the world? Sold!

Best of luck to Iwobi, who always seemed to try hard, and rock on, Raul!! What a window!

John C

Great sale and a real indication of lessons learned by the new management team.

After 150 appearances we’ve seen enough to have a clear idea of whether or not he was good enough and sadly he wasn’t and to my eyes never likely to be.

Under Wenger he would have been kept al la Walcott well beyond his usefulness but luckily Emery and Raul have decided to sell once a reasonable offer was made.

For me this represents another step in the direction of becoming a proper football club again.

OdalGooner

While I’m sad to see him go for sentimental reasons, you’re absolutely right on the money. Good to see that a contract at Arsenal isn’t a free meal ticket for the rest of your career.

George

Spot on.

loose_cannon

Very surprised by this transfer, I don’t think we had any intention of selling him throughout the window but Everton have come up with an offer too good to refuse. A shame he didn’t fulfil his potential here but if he does Everton will have a top player on their hands. Good luck to him!

Dre

Sad to see him go 🙁

Fergal

Good luck indeed. A super addition to Everton. We might regret that if he can sort that last ball and the goals. Hope we have a buy back option in there!

JIMMY JUGLA

Alex gud luck u made us proud you just worked hard goodbye GOONER

Chidi

Really sad to see Iwobi leave. I wish him all the best in his career. A true gooner! I’d have kept him if it were my call. There’s already so much he gives and he’s got a higher ceiling to reach at 23.

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