Arsene Wenger says that the Football
Association did not push hard enough to secure Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi for
the England national team.
As Standard Sport revealed when Iwobi
made his competitive debut for Nigeria in March last year the FA made a
late bid to secure the Arsenal forward’s international future.
The 21-year-old, who was born in Lagos
but moved to London at the age of four, had come through the England
youth setup, playing at Under-16, U17 and U18 level but never featuring
for the U21s. Instead he opted to represent the Super Eagles when they
first called him up in early October 2015, several weeks before the
youngster made his Arsenal debut.
“He had the potential to play for
England and for Nigeria,” Wenger told Arsenal Player. “Today he looks
very happy with Nigeria. When I speak to him, he’s had very positive
experiences.
“He brings his quality to Nigeria – he’s
absolutely a creative player going forward. He’s very strong in small
spaces and he’s starting to score goals as well.
“For a while it was open between England
and Nigeria, and England didn’t really push for Alex during that
period. Nigeria were more willing to have him. I’ve seen many times that
sons of parents from Nigeria want to go back to their parents’
country.”
Iwobi has since made 12 appearances for
Nigeria, scoring two goals, including the late winner against Zambia in
October that secured his country’s qualification for next summer’s World
Cup finals.
“When I actually scored the moment was
crazy, I remember running off celebrating,” Iwobi said. “I almost cried,
I actually almost cried to see how the fans were reacting, to see my
mum and dad in the stands, it was just an amazing feeling.”
“It’s always an honour to wear the
green, white and green, I mean I’ve seen so many kids on the street when
we’re in the bus, they’re screaming “go Nigeria, go Nigeria”, so to
represent them I’m just proud.”
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