Iwobi’s Performance Meets Arsenal Boss Unai Emery’s Expectations

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has expressed satisfaction with Alex Iwobi’s performance in the Gunners’ 5-1 pre-season victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Iwobi, who featured only in the first half, was lively on the left flank and came close to scoring when PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon denied him with his legs.

The match was Iwobi’s first appearance of the pre-season after he joined Arsenal’s preparations late following his involvement with Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Emery explained that Iwobi, Mesut Ozil and Mohamed Elneny had only recently returned to the squad and had not yet had much time to work on the team’s tactical preparations.

“It was the first match for Mesut, Iwobi and Elneny,” Emery said.

“They haven’t really worked tactically with the team. This week we worked one day tactically. This morning we worked on positioning, but they need to play.”

The Arsenal manager added that he was pleased with the performances of the returning players despite their limited preparation time.

“I am very happy with how the players played. This was the first time for these three players,” he said.

Arsenal were scheduled to face Chelsea in their next pre-season friendly on August 1 before completing their preparations against Lazio.