Former Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi has described his painful departure from his boyhood club, revealing that then-manager Unai Emery strongly disagreed with the decision to sell him to Everton in 2019.
Iwobi, who came through the Arsenal academy and went on to make over 100 first-team appearances, was sold to Everton for £34m on deadline day in the summer of 2019 — the same window Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign Nicolas Pepe for £72m.
The Nigeria international said he never got the chance to say goodbye to his Arsenal teammates and admitted he felt hurt by how things unfolded.
“Yeah, a bit. At least let me decide for myself,” he said.
Speaking on The Inside Scoop podcast, Iwobi admitted he was comfortable at Arsenal and initially had no intentions of leaving, despite the arrival of another winger.
“Three or two days before the transfer deadline day, my agent said Everton are interested,” Iwobi recalled.
“I said nice. He said ‘what do you think?’ I said ‘I’m kind of comfortable at Arsenal.’ But Arsenal have just signed Pepe for this amount.”
Iwobi explained that despite the competition, he was ready to fight for his place, but events quickly moved out of his control.
“They said ‘do you still want to stay?’ I said ‘Yeah, I don’t mind’. I’ve had competition all my life… I’m going to prove my point.”
However, Arsenal were reportedly eager to raise funds and viewed Iwobi as a high-value asset they could offload quickly.
“Normally, you need a medical before you go,” he said.
“(My agent) said, ‘Arsenal have already handed in the medical, they might want you gone because they need to sell someone’. And they had players who weren’t ready to go. But the easiest one and the biggest fee was me. So I was like, ‘Ah, Arsenal want to get rid of me.’”
Iwobi also revealed a private conversation with Emery, who made it clear the decision to sell him was driven by the club, not the manager.
“I spoke to Unai Emery and he said ‘Look Alex, this is football, I didn’t want you to go… you’ve always been someone willing to work for the team.’ He spoke to me on a level, that’s why I have respect for him.”
Now thriving at Fulham after a five-year spell at Everton, Iwobi has found a new lease of life in London. The 29-year-old is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, having scored nine Premier League goals this term while adding six assists.
During his time at Everton, Iwobi credited former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard with reviving his career after a difficult period under Rafael Benitez.
“Lampard, hands down. Lampard revived my career,” Iwobi said. “One of the AFCONs I got sent off, I came back, and Rafa Benitez told me I would go out on loan. I was having a mare, but then Benitez was gone.”
Under Lampard’s guidance, Iwobi transformed from a winger into an effective central midfielder, a position he has continued to excel in at Fulham under Marco Silva.
“He said, ‘Express yourself, be you,’ and that’s where I revitalised my career. I’d say under Lampard was my best time,” Iwobi added.
This season, the Nigeria international has featured in all 37 of Fulham’s Premier League matches, starting 35 and coming off the bench twice, clocking up 2,970 minutes.
Iwobi’s most recent appearance came in Fulham’s 3-2 win over Brentford last Sunday. Next up is a daunting home fixture against Man City on May 25.(Punch)
