It’s been almost six years since Alex Iwobi left Arsenal to sign for Everton, and now, the former Gunner has spoken about what really happened behind the scenes.
Iwobi has been one of Hale End’s greatest successes in recent years, establishing himself as a well-thought-of Premier League player.
The Arsenal academy product was unearthed by Arsene Wenger, whom Iwobi spoke highly of when dissecting his career so far.
After making his senior debut in 2015, the Nigerian became a regular in Wenger’s squad before leaving in 2019 during Unai Emery’s reign.
- READ MORE: Arsenal’s 25 most expensive transfers and record signings of all time including Rice and Ozil
Alex Iwobi opens up about Arsenal transfer
Emery never wanted to sell Iwobi, but had to due to the business side of football, needing to raise a profit after the Gunners purchased £72m Nicolas Pepe.
Weeks later, Everton bid £40m for Iwobi, a fee that was accepted by Arsenal, but things were not as simple as they seemed.
In an interview for The Inside Scoop, the former Gunner revealed what happened in the days leading up to his transfer during the summer of 2019.
“I never thought about leaving. The whole thing was mad,” Iwobi admitted.
The Fulham star then went on to explain what unravelled during a family holiday to Dubai, days before transfer deadline day.
“I was at AFCON, we came third, Unai Emery gave us extra weeks to recover. I’ve gone to Dubai with my family, he said, ‘go to Dubai, come back recharged’. Three or two days before the transfer deadline day, my agent said, ‘Oh Everton are interested’.
“I said, ‘Nice, what do you think? I’m kind of comfortable at Arsenal’, but Arsenal had just signed Pepe, he said ‘Do you still wanna stay’, I said, ‘Of course I’m fine, I’ve had competition all my life, that’s another winger, I respect him but I wanna prove my point’.”
Iwobi was eager to fight for his place against Pepe, who was arriving from Ligue 1 on the back of a season that saw him contribute to 33 goals, but it appeared that the situation was out of his hands.
“On the day, I’m going on a yacht with my family, where I’m going to lose signal, my agents call and say, ‘Everton are going to make a bid, what do you think?’. I said, it’s nice that I’m wanted.
“On the yacht now, I’m losing connection, they said that the Everton manager, Marco Silva, at the time wanted to call you. He’s speaking to me, he wanted me in his plans, to be the number ten, to be the main player, so I called my agent.
“‘It’s nice to know they want me, what do you think?’ I [said], I don’t know, I’m 50/50, then my agent said, ‘Alex, Arsenal have already handed in the medical’, they might want you gone because they need to sell someone.”
During a family holiday in the summer, the Arsenal academy graduate realised that his boyhood club wanted to cash in on him, something the now 29-year-old admitted was ‘mad’.
“It was mad, I was like, Arsenal want to let go of me, I guess it’s time for a new challenge.”
Iwobi left Arsenal at the right time
Despite not wanting to leave Arsenal, the Nigeria international realised that it was time for a new challenge, and opted to leave London to sign for Everton.
Though the situation must’ve been both difficult and unsettling for the Lagos-born star, time has shown that he made the right decision.
Aside from seeing his status as a starter in the Premier League strengthen, the most prominent plus from his departure is how the midfielder’s game has developed.
At Everton, Frank Lampard saw the Hale End product’s values as a midfielder, switching his position, which has since seen Iwobi become one of Europe’s best performers.
Now at Fulham, the attacker is enjoying his highest-scoring season in the Premier League, having one game left to hit double figures, currently sitting on nine goals.
It’s been quite the journey for Iwobi, who turned a surprising situation into one that truly elevated his career.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
