Arsenal attacker, Alex Iwobi was boosted for a maiden World Cup outing against Croatia with massive support from his club, as The Gunners threw their weight behind their former under-21 team captain before his outing with the Super Eagles on Saturday.
Iwobi, who was Nigeria’s goal hero in nicking an early ticket to Russia 2018 and added more during build-up friendlies, entered the game in Kaliningrad on the backing of his club, as Arsenal made it crystal clear that they will be rooting for the Eagles against the Croatians.
Incidentally, the nephew of former Eagles’ captain, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha turned out for England’s youth teams before he committed his international future to Nigeria in 2015, and became cap-tied after featuring against Egypt in an African Cup of Nations qualifier in March 2016.
The Hale End Academy product is the second Arsenal player to represent Nigeria at the World Cup, following in the footsteps of another former Eagles’ captain, Nwankwo Kanu, who was on the books of the Londoners during the 2002 World Cup.
Consequently, Arsenal disclosed in a pre-match statement that they were excited to see Iwobi, undoubtedly Nigeria’s most outstanding player during the six pre-World Cup friendlies, was set to be included in the starting eleven.
”When you remember your #WorldCup starts TODAY Good luck tonight, @alexiwobi – we’ll be backing you
#CRO v #NGA kicks off at 8pm (UK time) #BIG18 #SoarSuperEagles,” Arsenal wrote on Twitter.
