WENGER REVIVED BY ROOKIE ALEX
Iwobi steps up to lift his manager’s spirits, but dire Everton are perfect hosts
GIVEN all the money Arsene Wenger hasn’t spent at Arsenal in recent years, it’s always helpful when a kid from the Academy makes the type of impact that Alex Iwobi did at Goodison Park.
There was a time when the Arsenal manager seemed to click his fingers and find outstanding young players like Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Nicolas Anelka.
That particular well has gone dry in the dozen years since Arsenal were last champions, and yesterday Wenger seemed almost grateful that 19-year-old Iwobi reintroduced the feelgood factor almost single-handedly after a particularly dark period for the club.
On his first Premier League start, his 14th Arsenal appearance overall, the young Nigerian scored his first Gunners goal with a composed finish that his uncle Jay-Jay Okocha would have been proud of.
His youthful energy and enthusiasm also seemed to lift those around him and Danny Welbeck, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez played with a carefree spirit that belied Arsenal’s recent run of one point from three league games and cup exits against Watford and Barcelona.
Wenger didn’t try to hide the fact that victory was essential to maintain the club’s faint hopes of catching Leicester City and Spurs, the only teams above them in the table. ‘Mentally, we have responded under pressure when the character of my players was questioned,’ he said.
‘If we didn’t win today, we knew we were out of the title race. I am not enough of a masochist to consider ourselves out of it. We have a chance, we have a game in hand at home.
‘We are not at the moment flavour of the week but if we don’t believe, nobody will do it for us. We have to fight and perform like we did in this game. Our backs were to the wall and we responded. Let’s push on like this for the rest of the season.’
In one sense, Arsenal were lucky that their opponents still looked hungover from last weekend’s epic FA Cup win against Chelsea. Everton have the worst defensive home record in the Premier League and apart from Seamus Coleman’s early effort that grazed the woodwork, hardly troubled Arsenal’s defence either.
In contrast, Arsenal were incisive in their passing and had the boost of taking the lead after seven minutes when Ozil and Sanchez combined to set up Welbeck, who rounded Joel Robles with ease before slipping home his fourth goal in nine games following a long-term knee injury.
Iwobi fitted in like someone who has been at the Arsenal academy since the age of eight. He played on the left but occasionally switched to the right where he got his deserved goal after 42 minutes.
Hector Bellerin noted left-back Leighton Baines had pushed forward too far and pinged a raking pas to Iwobi to exploit the space. The youngster took two touches to accelerate past Ramiro Funes Mori before scoring with a deft low finish across Robles.
Wenger sounded like a proud grandfather in hailing his new prodigy. ‘He is an intelligent boy who loves the ball. He is very passionate about the game and wants to learn. I took him to train with the first team in pre-season and liked what I saw.
‘He’s been improving quickly, month-by-month. That is why I integrated him into the team.’
Iwobi was naturally a bit camerashy as he was handed his man-ofthe-match award on television by Welbeck. ‘It was a great moment, but the important thing was the team winning,’ he said politely.
Having represented England at youth level, there may be an inquest at the FA as to why he was allowed to pledge his international allegiance to Nigeria, where he’s won two full caps.
There were no anti-Wenger banners in the away end this time but fans did chant at owner “Silent” Stan Kroenke, who won’t talk about the manager’s future or spending plans. ‘Get out of our club,’ they sang to the American. They should be glad they’re not in Everton’s shoes. With an FA Cup semi-final appearance to come, the players appeared to lack interest and mild-mannered manager Roberto Martinez was angry.
‘We were pedestrian, we were fearful. We looked like the team who had a European trip on Wednesday, not them,’ he said. Martinez was particularly upset the players in blue didn’t take more responsibility with Gareth Barry suspended.
‘It was disappointing as a team we didn’t overcome not having Gareth and that is something we have to correct.’
Arsenal could have won by more in the end. Olivier Giroud’s header was ruled out without clear reason as Phil Jagielka fell over and wasn’t pushed. Sanchez was denied a stonewall penalty after being bundled over by Mo Besic and Funes Mori.
Maybe referee Mark Clattenburg was trying to ingratiate himself with Goodison fans who still haven’t forgiven him for his Merseyside derby display in 2007, when he sent off two Everton players.
Having been lambasted so often, Wenger probably deserved his little jibe to critics at the end. ‘We can be frustrating because we have a game based on movement and attacking football. We have to get the balance right, it’s not always right. But in England, it is difficult to give a fair assessment.
‘When you lose you are disastrous, and when we’ve lost, we have not as been as bad as people say.’