It's quite obvious just how fine an attacking footballer Alex Iwobi is.
His ability on the ball can be a spectacle at times, and off it, he hardly spares an effort.
It's why he's already been employed by three Premier League clubs — one of whom, Everton, paid a fee rising to £34 million to make him the most expensive Nigerian footballer ever in August 2019, holding that distinction until Victor Osimhen surpassed him with his big-money move to Napoli four years ago.
The only question mark that's ever been raised about Iwobi — which still lingers now, nearly nine years after his professional debut — is what his best position is.
The seeming failure of any of his coaches at club or international level to resolve that mystery is why many feel Iwobi hasn't delivered as consistently as he otherwise could.
In trying to decipher where he fits best, Transfermarkt — one of the most reliable authorities on matters as these — was consulted, and some interesting numbers emerged that may provide some pointers as to just what the sweet spot on the pitch for Iwobi might be.
Per that source, Iwobi has been deployed in nine distinct positions throughout the 300-plus games of his senior career. For the purposes of this piece, however, only positions in which Iwobi has played at least ten matches and contributed a minimum of five direct goal involvements are considered.
That means leaving out the 33 games he has played as a central midfielder (three goals/assists); 18 as a right midfielder (four goals/assists); seven as a left-sided midfielder (no goals/assists); two as a secondary striker (no goals/assists); one as a defensive midfielder (no goals/assists); and one at centre-forward (more on that later).
Of the three positions that remain of relevance, here's how they rank in ascending order:
Iwobi: Right winger
Eighty-six times in his career has Iwobi been deployed on the right wing, with over half of that coming during his time at Goodison Park.
It's been rewarded with ten goals and six assists thus far — working out to an average of a goal/assist every 5.37 games — and it's also from that position that five of his eight goal contributions for his current club, Fulham, have been racked up.
Iwobi: Attacking midfielder
It's the position which often comes to mind when one imagines Iwobi in the colours of the Nigerian national team.
That's probably because he's played there more than in any other position. Of the 92 games in which he's been utilised as an attacking midfielder — producing 22 goals or assists, an average of one every 4.18 matches — approximately 37% have come in a Nigeria shirt.
When identifying what his personal preference is, in a 2021 interview, Iwobi did pick the “No.10” — a term synonymous with the attacking midfielder role — and, from those figures, it's hard to argue.
And yet there is still another position where — statistically speaking, at least — he doesn't just excel, but actually does his best work.
Iwobi: Left winger
It is, by some distance, Iwobi's most regular position on the field. He's played there some 128 times, scoring 16 goals from that station and contributing 19 assists.
That's an average of a goal or assist every 3.65 games — not quite elite numbers, no, but definitely impressive enough to suggest he really shouldn't be playing anywhere else, all things being equal.
That's where Iwobi produced his most excellent Nigeria performance in recent memory, during last month's friendly victory over Ghana, a game that saw him score to record a first goal/assist for his country in almost two years.
He did play there quite a bit in his first few years as a Super Eagle, before being relocated almost permanently to midfield.
The game against the Black Stars was the first time Iwobi had been played in that position since a very brief cameo in Nigeria's opening game at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and the hope is that this marks a return to much more productive days for the young man.
Speaking of “productive”, it's worth noting one more position that has brought the best out of Iwobi in the past — his absolute best, in fact, purely in terms of goalscoring.
Curveball. Perhaps… centre-forward?
This analysis only factors in games Iwobi has played at senior level, but if his youth games are to be thrown in the mix, too, his most prolific position lies further upfield.
In 2015, the year when he went on to make his senior debut for Arsenal, Iwobi played seven times as a centre-forward for the Gunners’ U-21 team, scoring seven goals.
But that's hardly happened after he made the step up. In fact, only once has he played in that position since turning professional, in a famous November 2017 friendly against Argentina, in which he scored twice — his most in a game for his country.
With Nigeria presently spoilt for choice when it comes to centre-forward options, though, Iwobi would likely not have too solid a claim on that spot, and is better off being left alone to do his thing on the left.
