Alex Iwobi has had the kind of career arc that is easy to appreciate in hindsight but was anything but comfortable to live through, Footynaija.com reports.
A product of Arsenal’s academy who made 149 appearances for the Gunners, he left for Everton in 2019 in a move he admitted came as a surprise, and things would get considerably harder before they got better.
One of his lowest points was after the 2021 AFCON, when Iwobi was sent off in Nigeria’s round-of-16 defeat to Tunisia and returned to Everton to be told by Rafa Benitez that he would be loaned out. The Spanish manager was gone before the loan materialised, but the uncertainty did not disappear with him.
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What came instead was Frank Lampard, and everything changed.
Now at Fulham and one of the more consistent midfielders in the Premier League, Iwobi has been reflecting on that turning point.
Speaking on the Beast Mode On Podcast, the Super Eagles star left no ambiguity about where the credit belongs.
Lampard ‘resurrected my career’
“For my career, Lampard. He resurrected my career. I say it all the time to my people, I had my most enjoyable time playing football. Even though, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t at Arsenal, I enjoyed my football the most with Lampard,” Iwobi said.
He was careful to acknowledge his current manager without diminishing what Lampard did for him.
“Like I felt so free. I also enjoy with Marco Silva, don’t get it twisted, but because of where I was before mentally and where Lampard got me to now in football.”
When Lampard arrived at Everton, Iwobi refused a loan move, dug in, and Lampard responded by deploying him in central midfield and telling him to express himself rather than conform to a rigid role.
The result was a player who went from being peripheral to pivotal, and who has carried that confidence through to Craven Cottage ever since.
