THISDAY

Iwobi Thrilled to Be Back in Action for Gunners

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Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi is thrilled to have marked his return to the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Sunderland on Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old who has not played for the Gunners since their league fixture against Manchester City on April 2, was introduced as a 69th minute substitute for Kieran Gibbs at the Emirates Stadium Tuesday night.

Iwobi who has now recorded 25 league appearance­s with three goals for the Arsene Wenger’s side this season, came close to increasing the Gunners’ lead with a sublime shot in 83rd minute but was kept out by Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford.

The elated Nigeria internatio­nal took to Instagram to express his excitement after Alexis Sanchez’s brace ensured Arsenal’s fight for Champions League spot stay alive.

“Back Doing What I Love #AFC,” Iwobi wrote on Instagram yesterday.

Meanwhile, Arsenal players want Sanchez to stay at the club next season, defender Laurent Koscielny revealed yesterday even as speculatio­n continues to swirl about the Chilean internatio­nal’s future.

Sanchez has scored 28 goals in 49 appearance­s this season despite not being an out-and-out striker, but media reports have suggested he is unhappy at the club.

The 28-year-old has a year left on his contract and has been linked with both Manchester United and City and several other leading clubs across Europe.

“Firstly, he scored a lot of goals for us but his first job is not to be a striker, it is more midfield but he is an unbelievab­le player. He just wants to fight and have the best result for the club,” Koscielny told Sky Sports.

“When you have a player like this in your team, to show the way we want to grow together, it is important and I think he has a lot of players behind him to keep him.

“I don’t think there are a lot of players like him and a player like this who can be the difference during the game, it’s rare. We want to keep him with us because we know he is so important for our team.”

Fifth-placed Arsenal trails Liverpool by a point and host Everton in their final Premier League match of the season on Sunday. Liverpool hosts Middlesbro­ugh.

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