This Amazing stats prove Arsenal have found their ‘NEXT OZIL’ 1

Mesut Ozil seemed certain to break Thierry Henry’s Premier League assist record last season but the German’s form suffered at the wrong time towards the end of the season.

The 27-year-old had 16 assists going into 2016 but provided just three more for his team-mates as the Gunners finished behind Leicester City in the table.

Alex Iwobi, 20, broke into the first team in March with fine performances against Barcelona and Everton and he’s taken his good form from last season into this campaign.

The Nigerian thought he’d scored Arsenal’s opener against Hull on the weekend but the goal was given to Alexis Sanchez in the end after the Chilean got the final touch.


But the silver lining for Iwobi is that, after providing another assist in the win at the KCOM stadium, he is now leading the way in terms of league assists for Arsenal this calendar year with five compared to Ozil’s three.

With talent abound in attacking areas, many expected there to be a healthy amount of competition within the Arsenal squad. However, with few injuries to the current options, over the coming weeks, Wenger has some major selection headaches.

It is expected that Olivier Giroud would enter the starting lineup when he eventually recovers from a combination of fatigue from the Euros in the summer and a big toe injury suffered from the draw with Paris Saint-Germain.

Consequently, Alexis Sanchez will slide back to his more usual left wing and with Mesut Ozil resuming his role as the central role, there is only one final starting position in the Arsenal side.

That position is the troublesome right wing. Theo Walcott has started every Premier League game in this role so far this season but the recent form of explosive youngster Alex Iwobi will push the 27-year-old hard so he can maintain his starting role.

In Arsenal’s last league outing, a 4-1 win over Hull City, Iwobi was particularly dangerous, assisting twice, including a lovely back heel for Walcott’s clipped finish.

It was an excellent performance from the young attacking midfielder and Wenger may seek to exploit his far superior footballing intelligence over the pacier but rather the simplistic style of Walcott.

Iwobi’s spacial awareness is outstanding, the way he is able to drift inside, slip between the lines and influence play from these positions is far more dangerous than the one-dimensional, pace orientated Walcott.

Theo has shown signs of improvement this season, suggesting that he could be set for a career defining year barring injury issues, and I would expect him to start next week against Chelsea.

Nonetheless, Iwobi cannot be far behind him in the pecking order, and Wenger has a host of weapons to rotate in his attacking roles.