If things had worked out differently, Alex Iwobi might have been wearing a West Ham United shirt in Wednesday’s Craven Cottage kick-off, rather than the white of Fulham.
A graduate of the Arsenal academy, having grown up in Newham only a few miles from the Emirates Stadium, the Hammers came calling for a teenage Iwobi around a decade ago.
Now, as his Fulham side host a West Ham United outfit desperate for a win that could see them leapfrog Nottingham Forest into 17th, the Nigeria international has the chance to frustrate the East Londoners once again.
While Fulham could be without Harry Wilson for the visit of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, Iwobi heads into tonight’s 7.30pm kick-off in fine form.
Form he will be determined to maintain against a side he trained with as a youngster.
Alex Iwobi rejected West Ham United because he supported Arsenal
Speaking to the official Match of the Day magazine back in 2016, while he was establishing himself as a regular at Arsenal, Iwobi admitted that he and now-Ipswich Town forward Chuba Akpom were targeted by the Hammers in their academy days.
“Arsenal and West Ham were interested in me and Chuba,” Iwobi said. “We were training with both clubs for three years because we were scouted at six, and you can’t sign until you’re nine.
“I decided to sign for Arsenal because I supported them back then and I always saw them as the bigger club.
“No disrespect to West Ham!”
“I signed [for Arsenal] with Alex Iwobi at the same time,” Akpom would later reveal in an Instagram live with Don Dada. “We were just training through the ranks.
“We were on trial at West Ham. Arsenal and West Ham had a bit of a fight because of that, because they were trying to say ‘why are you taking my player’? Because of that, we stayed at Arsenal!”
While Akpom has never really hit the heights consistently – despite a Golden Boot winning campaign with Middlesbrough in the division below – this will be Iwobi’s 314th Premier League appearance should he feature tonight.
Iwobi faces West Ham after inspiring Fulham win over Tottenham
Have you ever seen a goal like it, in appearance number 313?
A fizzing shot rocketed past Guglielmo Vicario with his instep? Didier Drogba did something similar in his Chelsea heyday. There were shades of Loic Remy’s outrageous strike against Wigan Athletic in a Queens Park Rangers shirt.
Iwobi’s stunning hit shoved Tottenham onto the brink of the abyss on Sunday; the second in a 2-1 Fulham win. Repeat the trick tonight, against another relegation-threatened London rival, and West Ham will find themselves circling the drain; a player who turned them down as a teenager removing the plug from the bath.
The former Everton winger netted twice in a 3-2 defeat by West Ham last season. A similar scoreline would do Nuno and co the world of good here, following a Liverpool loss which dented their momentum.
Fulham boss Marco Silva expects a ‘completely different’ challenge against a side his team beat 1-0 at the London Stadium a few days after Christmas. Just two-and-a-half months later, only four of the players who started that day for Nuno are likely to be in the XI here.
Wherever Iwobi pops up – he has played on the left, the right and in the centre this term – keeping him quiet, and denying him the chance to set his sights from range, will be something Nuno will be keen to imprint onto his players pre-match.
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