Alan Shearer says ‘excellent’ star Unai Emery sold has become a ‘leader’ since leaving Arsenal

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Although he left Arsenal over five years ago, Alex Iwobi remains one of the north London club’s record sales.

In 2019, Arsenal sold Alex Iwobi for a fee of around £35m to Everton, a Hale End academy graduate who many were sorry to see leave.

At the same time, most Arsenal fans recognised that Iwobi wasn’t going to get the opportunities he needed at the Emirates in order to reach his full potential.

That being said, after 140 appearances for Everton, Iwobi eventually signed for Fulham in 2023.

And under the guidance of Marco Silva, Iwobi has really begun to flourish, arguably becoming the most consistent performer at Craven Cottage.

The Nigeria international is now one of several former Arsenal players in west London, and before he moved to Brentford, Iwobi wanted Reiss Nelson to re-join Fulham as well. 

Alan Shearer praises the progress Alex Iwobi has made after Arsenal

With Iwobi’s progress at Fulham in mind, pundit Alan Shearer has now praised the former Arsenal favourite for his efforts against Brentford on Monday.

Iwobi scored against Fulham’s rivals, making the most of a messy situation at the back for Brentford.

And when including Iwobi in his Team of the Week, Shearer claimed that Iwobi had become a real ‘leader’ for Fulham.

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At 29-years-old, Iwobi has amassed 80 caps for Nigeria, now playing alongside club teammate Calvin Bassey, and Shearer was beyond impressed by his progress.

Shearer wrote: “Excellent instincts to equalise and then a sensational through-ball for Harry Wilson to put his team in front. Iwobi is now a leader for Fulham.”

And if you ask any Fulham fan who regularly makes their way down to the Cottage to watch Iwobi play, they’ll reach the exact same conclusion.

Unai Emery explained his decision to sell Alex Iwobi at Arsenal

Speaking in 2019 when he was actually discussing Eddie Nketiah’s loan move to Leeds United, then Arsenal manager Unai Emery explained his decision to let Iwobi leave.

In the season prior to his departure, Iwobi played 51 games under Emery – he was an important member of the squad.

But when justifying the decision, Emery was confident that Arsenal had adequate cover elsewhere.

He said: “He was very important for us last year, but we need to manage with a good balance with different players.”

Of course, Emery lost his job only a few months later, paving the way for Mikel Arteta to start his new era at the Emirates.

Either way, Iwobi will always be a very popular figure in N5, and Arsenal fans will be delighted to see him flourishing for Fulham, providing he doesn’t make the difference when the two teams come head to head.