Arsene Wenger knows his way around a youth prospect. He is the man responsible for bringing along Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Hector Bellerin, just to name a few. Most of those players are no longer at Arsenal, but it was under Wenger that they developed into the players they became. Wenger has made youth development the calling card of Arsenal, and this weekend the latest product of that was on full display.
Alex Iwobi’s game against Watford was not perfect by any means. He misplaced passes all over the pitch, some of them were inaccurate, some of them left you wishing he hadn’t attempted the pass at all. But he did have a goal and and three chances created (one of which really should have been an assist) and for a 19-year-old, that in an of itself is something to be immensely proud of.
Iwobi created a chance for Sanchez that eventually turned into a goal. Photo: @Squawka | Twitter
Now that the 4-0 victory for Arsenal is well and truly on the back burner, Wenger has made some comments to the Arsenal Weekly Podcast concerning how he came to the conclusion that Iwobi was ready to play with the first team.
"You asses his individual performances in training compared to the players who have a regular part in the Premier League," Wenger said. "Once you see that he can match that, you question yourself [if he is ready]. And if a player manages consistently to make you wonder, 'Oh he might be ready now,' then at some stage you find a moment to put him in."
The Watford match was Iwobi’s 15 with the first team. During the start of the season he only came on for a few minutes at a time, with his starts mainly coming in the FA Cup. He would eventually start against Barcelona in the champions league, and it seems since then he has become just as likely to start for the first team as more established wingers Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Joel Campbell.
Wenger is immensely proud of Iwobi’s progression this year, saying that youth development is still something he takes immense pride in.
"It's fantastic. It's one of the basic values at our club and I'm very proud of defending that," he said. "Alex Iwobi came here at the age of eight years old. That means the club has a meaning for them. That means for the next 10 years, if he makes it, we will have players who really carry the values of the club through the generations. That for me is vital."
The advent of Iwobi is a fitting contrast to the collapse of Arsenal’s title ambitions. Yet again the side has squandered away a shot at winning the Premier League; yet again Wenger seems to have uncovered a youth prospect worth getting excited over. A history of doing the latter has built Arsenal into the power it is today, and a history of doing the former has built a glass ceiling on the success of the club.
Both histories are tied to Wenger, but the questions is: will they both still be there when he is gone?
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