[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… Everton made the headlines late on deadline day when they completed the £34m signing of Alex Iwobi from Arsenal, with the deal eventually announced four hours after the 5pm deadline had passed.It came somewhat out of the blue, and seemed as if the 23-year-old was always in the back of the Toffees’ minds as an alternative to Wilfried Zaha – the pursuit of the Crystal Palace winger failed as the Eagles stood firm on their valuation.That is where question marks are raised about Iwobi’s arrival. Will he be a winger, or will he be used in a more central role?[ad_pod ]Well, judging by Marco Silva’s comments, it looks as if he will be viewed as a wide man at Goodison Park, although that perhaps isn’t the best area to use Iwobi in if the Toffees want to get the most out of him and suggests that life on Merseyside may not be too different than it was in London for the academy graduate.
Silva refers to Iwobi as a winger, which makes sense seeing as that’s what he was at Arsenal. But he shouldn’t have been.
The Nigeria international has said himself that he prefers to play in a more central role, and it is in that No.10 area where he plays for his country – the stats above comparing his season on the wing with Arsenal compared to his time in a central role at the Africa Cup of Nations speaks volumes.
Iwobi gets far more involved in proceedings when played centrally compared to on the wing, and the general feeling at the Emirates Stadium based on a few fans’ feelings towards him are that he isn’t effective out wide – some feel that he would be much better in the middle.
He scored one goal at AFCON in seven appearances, compared to three goals across 35 Premier League appearances – his ratio at AFCON works out at a goal every seven games (complex maths, I know), whereas on the wing for Arsenal, it is one every 11.7 games.
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Only a slight improvement, but the stats don’t lie when they tell you that Iwobi is a better attacking option when played in the middle.
If Silva really does continue to view him as a winger, then life at Goodison Park may not be too different for Iwobi than it was under Unai Emery.
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