What is Alex Iwobi’s future at Arsenal under Unai Emery?

The Nigerian international has struggled to push on at Arsenal after his early promise and will hope to progress under new head coach Unai Emery

Starting from scratch. That’s what the majority of Arsenal’s first-team players will be doing when they take to the training ground pitch at London Colney next month. The likes of Mesut Ozil, Hector Bellerin, Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey are expected to be mainstays of Unai Emery’s new vision for Arsenal, but there are several players who are playing for their futures at the club following the departure of Arsene Wenger at the end of last season.

One of those with plenty to prove is Alex Iwobi. The 22-year-old has scored six goals in 20 games for Nigeria, including two goals in a 4-2 win over Argentina in November, yet when it comes to performing on a consistent basis for Arsenal the attacker struggles to impact games with the gusto that Super Eagles supporters have become accustomed to.

Emery’s arrival as head coach has already sparked a change in the form of summer arrivals, prompting speculation that certain players could be replaced. Stefan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno and the imminent signing of Sokratis Papastathopoulos suggests that there is a new ruthless streak at managerial level, with head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and head of football relations Raul Sanllehi working closely together with chief executive Ivan Gazidis to ensure Arsenal close the gap on their Premier League rivals that had grown significantly wider over the past couple of seasons.