Arsenal attacker, has disclosed that he is making the best of playing under The Gunners’ new gaffer, Unai Emery, who he said has introduced innovative approaches that make him feel sharper and ready to play with extra intensity.
Speaking against the backdrop of his first goal of the season, in last weekend’s loss to Chelsea, Iwobi said Emery has brought a new zeal and hunger in training to Emirates Stadium, added to which the gaffer wants the lads to play with more possession.
Emery’s strategy of ball possession appeared to have paid off last weekend, as Iwobi got on the end of a record team worked goal, which involved 19 passes and touches by 10 players, to initially pull level with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Although The Gunners eventually lost the London derby 3-2, Iwobi insists Emery’s style is bound to make them stronger as the season goes by, especially as they are now playing as a team with collective focus on victory.
Iwobi enthused that Emery’s intense methods at Arsenal are already reaping rewards for the team, despite their worst ever start to any season in the English Premier League – with two straight defeats already this term.
Emery is the first new manager in the Gunners dugout for over 22 years and, despite two defeats, Iwobi has joined his colleagues in praising the new manager’s impact, having got off their campaign with tough fixtures.
Manchester City were the first visitors to Emirates Stadium, but won 2-0 on the opening day, before Emery’s side slumped to their second defeat in 7 days when a late Marcos Alonso goal handed Chelsea victory at Stamford Bridge.
However, Iwobi, who made 26 appearances and scored three goals for Arsenal last season in the Premier League, is full of plaudits for the former Sevilla of Spain gaffer and said he now has to work harder to establish himself under Emery.
The 22-year-old Iwobi said: “It’s exciting times to be fair. Everybody’s enjoying and buying into the new ideas.
“For me personally, I’m enjoying the new sessions, the new training methods and the new ideas, so I’m enjoying my time with him.
“He demands a lot. He’s a lot more intense, a lot of high pressing and keeping the ball so that it benefits us if we have the ball.
“It’s making me feel a bit sharper; I’m doing things with a bit more intensity. It’s not just for me, though, I feel like I’m helping the team a lot more. It’s benefitting me a lot more.
“Whenever something in the system changes, you have to prove yourself again. But wherever you go, you have to prove that you’re better than whoever else is on the team.
“It’s exciting times to be fair. Everybody’s enjoying and buying into the new ideas. For me personally, I’m enjoying the new sessions, the new training methods and the new ideas, so I’m enjoying my time with him.
“At a team like Arsenal, that’s always going to be hard so I always have to be on it in training and matches. I’ve got to be different.
“It’s going to be hard because we’ve got so many attackers and so many world-class players, so I’ve just got to prove that I’m on that level or as good as them so that I can be ahead of them, which is my aim.”
