Arsenal attacker, Alex Iwobi has disclosed that he will be counting on the high level of trust he has gained from The Gunners’ boss, Unai Emery, for him to play a part in Wednesday’s Europa League final.
Megasportsarena.com reports that The Gunners will be involved in an all-England final against London rivals, Chelsea, of which Iwobi knows a lot of spotlight will be on the historic game in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Although he sat out 90 minutes of both semi-finals fixtures against Valencia of Spain, Iwobi is eagerly anticipating a role in Wednesday’s final, as he admits he will look up to Emery again believing in his abilities.
The Spanish tactician has managed a decent first season with Arsenal, helping them finish fifth on the English Premier League table and qualified for the Europa League final, ahead of which Iwobi played a bit-part role in the matches.
Despite not getting a look in for the past two matches of the second-tier continental campaign, Iwobi was in and out of Emery’s starting 11 during the EPL season, and the Super Eagles’ star ended up getting 50 appearances across all competitions with four goals to his name.
He, however, admitted that becoming prolific under Emery is a welcome relief for him, as he admits he was initially apprehensive upon the Spaniard’s arrival at Emirates Stadium, but concluded that the gaffer has greatly impacted him.
Iwobi told Evening Standard: “I didn’t know what it was going to be like when he came.
“I can’t lie, it was a bit weird [at first] because I grew into the system playing under Arsene Wenger and that is all I have known.
“When he did come — I came late to pre-season as I was at the World Cup — he spoke to me and said what ideas he had for me.
“I have bought into them and I’ve played in a lot of matches and he has shown a lot of faith in me. I thank him for that.
“To be involved in as many games makes me proud, but I have still got a long way to go and I am sure he has a lot more years at the club as well.
“You can see everyone is fighting, not just for us, but for him. He has a good chemistry with the players and you can see that in his time here.
“To get us to a final, he has had the right tactics and the right players at the right time. We will do our best to win the final for him as well.”
