Alex Iwobi

Footballer

Birthday May 3, 1996

Birth Sign Taurus

Birthplace Lagos, Nigeria

Age 27 years old

Nationality Nigeria

Height 1.80 m

Weight 75 kg

#12204 Most Popular

1957

He made his senior debut for the Super Eagles on 8 October, replacing Ahmed Musa in the 57th minute of a 2–0 friendly defeat to DR Congo in Visé, Belgium.

1985

Iwobi made his Champions League debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 5–1 defeat against Bayern Munich.

1996

Alexander Chuka Iwobi (born 3 May 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Fulham and the Nigeria national team.

Iwobi began his career at Arsenal, making 149 appearances and scoring fifteen goals.

2004

Iwobi joined Arsenal while still at primary school, in 2004, and was nearly released by the club at the age of 14 and again at the age of 16.

2011

Eligible to represent England or his birth country Nigeria, Iwobi started as a youth international for England, with whom he won the 2011 Victory Shield.

2013

He was first involved in a first-team match as an unused substitute in a League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion on 25 September 2013.

2015

He made his senior international debut for Nigeria in October 2015, and was part of their squads at the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019, 2021 and 2023, finishing third at the 2019 tournament, and runner-up at the 2023 tournament.

Iwobi was born in Lagos before moving to England at the age of four, following a brief stay in Turkey, and grew up in Newham, London.

His maternal uncle is former professional footballer Jay-Jay Okocha.

His father, Chuka Iwobi, was also a footballer.

He signed a long-term contract with Arsenal in October 2015.

On 27 October 2015, Iwobi made his first-team debut for the club, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Round of 16 of the League Cup.

He made his Premier League debut four days later in a 3–0 win against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, as a stoppage time substitute for Mesut Özil.

Iwobi started in the first team for the 2015–16 FA Cup 3rd and 4th round home wins against Sunderland and Burnley respectively.

After getting a first Champions League start in a 3–1 away defeat to Barcelona, Iwobi went on to score two goals in his first two Premier League starts in wins against Everton, and Watford, respectively.

In the following season, Iwobi changed his squad number from 45 to 17, after Alexis Sánchez took number 7 from the departing Tomáš Rosický.

Iwobi earned 11 caps for England at underage level, but went on to declare for Nigeria in 2015.

2016

He went on to feature throughout Arsenal's victorious FA Cup campaign of 2016–17, winning 2–1 against Chelsea in the final.

On 16 September, Iwobi made his debut for Fulham as a 62nd minute substitute in a 1–0 win over Luton Town.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win at Norwich City in the third round of the EFL Cup on 27 September.

On 27 November, Iwobi scored his first Premier League goal for Fulham in a 3–2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Craven Cottage.

On 6 December, he scored the first league brace of his career in a 5–0 win at home to Nottingham Forest.

He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

2017

He won the FA Cup in 2017, and scored in the 2019 UEFA Europa League final as well.

He achieved further success with Arsenal in the 2017 Community Shield, in which Arsenal beat Chelsea on penalties.

2018

In January 2018, a video was released that allegedly showed Iwobi at a late-night party 36 hours before a match.

In May 2018, after Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger announced he would be leaving the club, Iwobi described him as an "inspiration" and stated it was sad but exciting.

In August 2018, he signed a new long-term contract with the club, reportedly until 2023.

2019

In August 2019, he transferred to Everton for an initial £28 million fee.

Iwobi represented England up to under-18 level.

In January 2019, Iwobi was the subject of alleged racism from Indian actress Esha Gupta, an Arsenal ambassador.

In May 2019 he scored Arsenal's only goal in the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final, in a 4–1 defeat to Chelsea.

On 8 August 2019, Iwobi signed a five-year contract with Everton.

According to the BBC, Arsenal received a fee of an initial £28 million, rising to £34 million with potential add-ons.

Fifteen days after signing, Iwobi made his debut as a substitute for the final half-hour in place of Gylfi Sigurðsson in a 2–0 loss at Aston Villa.

On 28 August in the second round of the EFL Cup, he scored his first Everton goal in a 4–2 win at Lincoln City.

He scored his first league goal on 1 September in a 3–2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, and was one of two players singled out for praise by manager Marco Silva afterwards.

Iwobi was named Everton's Players' Player of the Season for 2022–23 after providing a club-high eight assists.

Iwobi signed for Fulham on 2 September 2023 for an undisclosed fee.