Arsene Wenger has urged youngster Alex Iwobi to improve on his game and admits the Nigerian midfielder needs to be “more efficient in the final third offensively”.

Iwobi made his breakthrough into the Gunners first-team during the 2014-15 season where he featured in 13 Premier League matches, scoring two goals and creating two assists.

The 21-year-old enjoyed his best season in the senior side last season, when he scored three goals and provided five assists across all competitions.

However, Iwobi has fallen down the pecking order at the start of the new season following the signing of Alexandre Lacazette this summer.

Iwobi has failed to feature the full 90 minutes in any of the Gunners last five matches this season but he played an important role last weekend in helping Arsene Wenger’s side secure their first point at Stamford Bridge since the 2011-12 season.

As quoted in the Evening Standard, the French boss feels that the youngster has the potential to become a great talent but Wenger believes that there are still areas where he can make improvements.

Wenger said: “We forget sometimes that Alex is still a very young player and that there’s a lot more to come from him.”

“There must be a lot more to come from him because he has more personality in the game now.

“We expect him to be more efficient in the final third offensively, because you feel there are goals in there and assists too.

“They have to come out. Add that to the fact that he allows the team to play very well and he will be a top-class player.”

S/C’s View

Alex Iwobi was one of Arsenal’s best performers at the start of the previous season. In the 3-0 victory over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium last season, Iwobi was sensational and he showed that he could cause havocs for any defence in the Premier League. However, the Nigerian seemed to suffer a drop of form prior to end of last season and Wenger decided to use him carefully, choosing to bench him for the FA Cup success over Chelsea.

This current season should serve as a real chance for the Arsenal academy graduate to prove himself and perhaps to Arsene Wenger that he deserves to be a regular starter and he was impressive in his performance for Arsenal last weekend. The midfielder will only become more clinical in front of goal with experience and that will surely come sooner rather than later.

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