I’VE LEARNT THE TOUGH WAY - IWOBI ON ARSENAL CHANCES

The Nigeria international explained what led to his current situation in Arsene Wenger's side and his readiness to take his chances when they come by

Alex Iwobi said he has learnt that consistency is a key to maintaining a regular spot at Arsenal.

Iwobi, who broke into the first team from the club’s academy in 2015, has struggled to feature regularly for the Gunners with just two league appearances under his belt this season.

The Nigeria international admitted that he missed out on a regular starting place - one he enjoyed in the 2016-17 campaign - due to his dropped performance level and has to mix hard work with a positive attitude to regain the trust of Arsene Wenger.

“It was hard but something I had to learn from. If you are not performing consistently at a club like Arsenal, then there are other players ready to take the opportunity — which I learned the tough way,” Iwobi told Evening Standard.

“I wasn’t involved as much as I wanted to be but I just had to be patient, still have the same attitude, work hard in training and wait for my chance again. That’s what I’ve been doing.

Obviously, I am an attacking player, so when you are an attacking player, you need to create goals and get goals — and that’s the main thing for me.

“People in my position were doing better than me in that aspect of the game, which is to eventually win games, and that’s something I had to work on.

“I never played it [three at the back] as a youngster growing up. I have played several ­positions in it — left wing-back, left off the forward, central midfield. Whatever role I get told to play, I just have to adapt to it and play. I don’t really blame the system, I more blame myself.”