believes Alex Iwobi would have thrived at Arsenal if Mikel Arteta had been his manager and says the club made a mistake in selling the midfielder.
The Nigeria international left the Gunners for Goodison Park in 2019 for a fee rising to £35million.
Iwobi has struggled on Merseyside but he’s found a new lease of life under this season, with the former boss playing the midfielder in a more central area.
The 26-year-old was heavily criticised during his time at the Gunners, particularly following ’s departure.
The Gunners have rebuilt under Arteta and their brand of football now is the closest it’s been to what fans had grown accustomed to under the Frenchman.
And Wright believes that Iwobi was a victim of the upheaval at the Emirates, with the Gunners legend saying he’s now the sort of player that Arteta wants.
‘I’m so pleased with the way it’s going for him. I remember Arsenal fans, it’s the same thing they did with Oxlade-Chamberlain, they ridiculed him. I remember watching him play in midfield early days for Arsenal at , and you’re seeing something,’ said Wright on the Wright’s House Podcast.
‘His ball progression and work rate, what Frank has now recognised him and put him there, listen to the fans when he’s doing his work, they are adoring him now. I’m loving the way it’s working out for Iwobi.
‘I’m just talking about somebody who’s making a massive difference to what Everton need – the work rate, his ball progression, his passing, everything. He’s the pass before the assist, people don’t realise it. Everton fans are now starting to realise that if they get the right players in and around him, he’s going to be a force for them.
‘You look at his work rate, it’s unbelievable. It’s the kind of intensity that Mikel wants now and needs now, we need that, we need somebody who can press like that.’
