Alex Iwobi’s relevance at Arsenal is gradually dwindling barely one year after he grabbed global attention.
The 20-year-old burst onto the scene at the Emirates last term with unbelievable performances such that his manager, Arsene Wenger, found him difficult to resist.
His exploits for the Gunners even brought about a last-minute attempt by the English FA to persuade him into representing The Three Lions instead of Nigeria.
However, the youngster opted for the Super Eagles and continued his meteoric rise at the Emirates featuring 16 times in all competitions this season.
Despite being heavily criticised for his inability to add few goals to his game, Wenger still kept faith in the Nigerian.
But after his own goal in the 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-German in the Champions League last week, the 20-year-old’s first team place is now under tremendous threat.
Iwobi was benched in Arsenal’s following game against Bournemouth which the side won comfortably on Sunday.
He was handed a start by Wenger in the EFL Cup quarter-finals alongside other fringe players on Wednesday but the youngster failed to excel and the Gunners were dumped out of the competition.
It was another night of misery for Iwobi as Southampton progressed to the semi-finals for the first time since 1987 thanks to a convincing victory over a below-par and under-strength Arsenal.
Goals from Jordy Clasie – his first for the club – and Ryan Bertrand secured victory for a Southampton side which inflicted a first defeat on the Gunners since the opening day of the season.
It is very unlikely that Iwobi will get a look this weekend when the Gunners visit West Ham.
