Date: 10th May 2018 at 7:00pm
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Arsenal are set for a major rebuild at the end of the season, following another disappointing campaign, and crucial decisions need to be made in the transfer window – regarding both incoming and outgoing deals.

Plenty of attention will orientate around who Arsene Wenger’s successor at the Emirates Stadium will be and which players he will look to add to the squad but key decisions need to be made with the current quota of options within the squad.

One player that certainly looks like he would benefit from a new environment is Nigeria international Alex Iwobi who, despite being set to star for his nation at the World Cup, has failed to impress thoroughly with the Gunners this season.

Unfortunately, 22-year-old Iwobi has struggled with the demands of regular first-team action at Arsenal and the pressure, at this point, looks like it is too much for him – and it’s clear that the Gunners made a mistake not loaning the winger out earlier in his career.

It’s a situation Arsenal fans should be accustomed to as we had the same with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during his time at the club, never really giving him a fair chance to succeed in his favoured position in central midfield, and now seeing him excel for Champions League finalists Liverpool.

To a certain extent, we’ve also had the same problem with Hector Bellerin. The Spain ace was thrusted into the first-team during Mathieu Debuchy’s injury-plagued spell at the Emirates Stadium and hasn’t had too much competition to dethrone him from his spot in the first-team. As a result, he’s struggled for consistency.

Iwobi, quite clearly, is wandering down the same path and it doesn’t look likely that he can return to form easily, particularly with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang providing competition for his position.

With speculation that Arsenal will look to sign a left-sided player this summer to fill the void left by Alexis Sanchez’s move to Manchester United in January, Iwobi’s place in the first-team squad isn’t secure but it’s far too talented to let slip through the net.

A season on-loan, either elsewhere in the Premier League or even with a top European side, could really be the making of Iwobi, would make him a more regular selection for using your bonus code from Matchbook and would help him transfer his stellar international form onto club level, while removing him from the pressure that Arsenal present.

With Arsenal set for a major restructure, that pressure will only increase and it could lead to suffocating Iwobi if he sticks around.

 

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