Arsenal attacker, Alex Iwobi has quickly taken his mind off his side’s crunch 1-1 draw in friendly game against Atletico Madrid on Thursday, as he is now thinking of getting back into action during Saturday’s battle with Paris Saint-Germain.
After seeing himself stuck to The Gunners’ bench for his first game under Unai Emery, Iwobi is eager to make his mark in their next game of the International Champions Cup and will have to do so with their second fixture in Singapore against the French giants.
While Iwobi watched from the bench, 17-year-old Emile Smith Rowe scored a stunner to level things up for Arsenal at the start of the second half against Atletico, meaning the Super Eagles star has a lot of work to do in training in order to get a shirt versus PSG.
Atletico Madrid emerged victorious via penalties, as Arsenal miss three in the shootout, in which debuting Antonio Adan was the hero, after making three saves and then producing the best strike to win it for his side, firing his effort in off the underside of the crossbar.
Iwobi, who agreed a new contract with The Gunners on Wednesday, has so much more to play for, as Arsenal will end their tour of Singapore after two games before flying back to Dublin, where they will take on Chelsea in their final ICC match next Wednesday.
After that, Iwobi and his colleagues will face SS Lazio in Stockholm, Sweden for their final friendly before starting action in the English Premier League on August 12.
Iwobi’s absence against Atleti was put down to a decision by Emery to rest those among his players who were at the World Cup and are still in the early stages of their pre-season training with the team.
This came few hours after Iwobi agreed to sign a new five-year contract worth around £70,000-a-week when he returns to the United Kingdom this weekend.
Iwobi currently earns 30,000 pounds every week, meaning The Gunners are ready to pay him more than double the amount he’s taking home now.
The 22-year-old Super Eagles star will pocket at least £18.2 m over the duration of his new five-year deal.
Since Iwobi was promoted to Arsenal’s first team during the 2015-2016 season, he has played 98 matches; including appearances and goals in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and English Premier League.
