Arsène Wenger had time for a lighthearted dig. The England manager, Roy Hodgson, was at the Emirates Stadium to watch Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs but, according to Wenger, he could cast his eye over one that has got away. “Alex Iwobi is one you can miss because he plays for Nigeria now,” the Arsenal manager said. “He should play for England.”
Iwobi was one of the stars of this relatively comfortable 2-1 win for the FA Cup holders, driving with the ball at his feet and prompting the team from the No10 role with some nice touches. The 19-year-old was involved in both of the goals, playing the pass before the assist on each occasion, and when he was substituted in the 71st minute he was warmly applauded.
Wenger talked of how the Lagos-born attacker, who represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 levels, was not a player who particularly stood out in training, even up to a couple of years ago, but the strides forward he has taken more recently have led to excitement.
Iwobi can play in wide areas but his preferred position is behind the striker – and it is just a pity for him that Arsenal have a bloke called Mesut Özil who plays there. Wenger, however, sees a role for Iwobi in the squad and it was revealing that, even though almost all of the club’s injured players have now returned to fitness, he said he would rather not loan him out for the remainder of the season.
“I have a hesitation about loaning him because I think this guy could very quickly play,” Wenger said. “It’s the first season he trains with the top team and I think it would help him a lot to [stay and] see the quality of the players around him. He can play on the left, on the right, behind the striker, even No9. He scores goals in training. He’s one who, when he was a kid, could pass you by if you don’t watch well in training but I personally like this game.”
It was Iwobi’s third start and eighth appearance for the club – all of them have come this season – and Wenger spoke with great appreciation when he analysed the finer details of his game.
“His decision-making is spot on and his awareness is very interesting,” Wenger said. “He’s a boy who, two years ago, not many would have said: ‘This will be.’ He develops very well. He’s very clever. I like the timing and the quality of his decision-making. He always turns where you want him to turn and he plays the ball where you want him to play the ball. He’s very interesting.”
Iwobi is the nephew of the legendary Nigeria forward Jay-Jay Okocha and he has pledged his international allegiance to the country of his birth, rather than the one in which he has lived since he was a young child. He has made two appearances for Nigeria, both in friendlies last October, and so, technically, he could yet switch back to England. That is extremely unlikely, however, given that he has spoken in interviews about the pride he has felt at being called up by Nigeria.
“I remember I turned him down to go to an under-23 friendly tournament and then Nigeria called him up for the first team to force him to go,” Wenger said. “Because you cannot turn down the first team. It’s a massive football country, 180 million people, a big history. Okocha is a top legend there and so is Kanu.”
Burnley started slowly but they responded to Calum Chambers’s fine goal to equalise through Sam Vokes, who, together with his striker partner, Andre Gray, stretched and roughed up the Arsenal defence. Alexis Sánchez, making his first start since a hamstring injury on 29 November, scored the winner.
“I think [playing with] two strikers will come back round,” said the Burnley manager, Sean Dyche, who hopes to complete the loan signing of the Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard. “Look at Leicester, look at Watford. When an English coach plays it, it’s old-fashioned but not when a foreign coach plays it. I always find that interesting.”
Man of the match Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal)