Respect: Alex Iwobi appreciated an honest conversation with then Arsenal boss Unai Emery
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Alex Iwobi has admitted he was hurt by the manner of his departure from Arsenal in 2019, a decision Unai Emery did not want the club to make at the time.
The 29-year-old came through the academy at Arsenal and then established himself in the first-team in north London.
His time at the club came to an end when he made a £34million move to Everton on deadline day in 2019, the same summer Arsenal signed Nicolas Pepe for a £72m fee.
Speaking on The Inside Scoop podcast, Iwobi said: “Three or two days before the transfer deadline day, my agent said Everton are interested.
“I said nice. He said ‘what do you think?’ I said ‘I’m kind of comfortable at Arsenal.’ But Arsenal have just signed Pepe for this amount.
“They said ‘do you still want to stay?’ I said ‘Yeah, I don’t mind’. I’ve had competition all my life like that’s another winger. I’m going to respect him but I’m going to prove my point."
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However, while Iwobi was keen to try and prove himself under Emery, the club were keen to cash in on the Nigerian and pushed through a sale in the final hours of the window.
Iwobi continued: “Normally, you need a medical before you go.
“[His agent] said, ‘Arsenal have already handed in the medical, they might want you gone because they need to sell someone’. And they had players who weren’t ready to go. But the easiest one and the biggest fee was me. So I was like, ‘ah Arsenal want to get rid of me’.”
Iwobi has since joined Fulham and has enjoyed the most productive season of his career to date this term, scoring nine goals in the Premier League.
It has been a successful return to London for Iwobi, who revealed he did not get the chance to say goodbye to his Arsenal team-mates in 2019.
Iwobi also detailed a conversation with then Arsenal boss Emery, with the Spaniard making it clear the sale was not his decision.
Asked if he was hurt by the circumstances around his move to Everton, Iwobi said: “Yeah a bit, at least let me decide for myself.
“I spoke to Unai Emery and he said ‘look Alex, this is football, I didn’t want you to go, I had you in my plans, you’ve always been someone willing to work for the team. I didn’t want you to go but at the end of the day, this is business.’
“I said, ‘there’s no hard feelings, it’s fine’. He spoke to me on a level, that’s why I have respect for him. I’ve always had respect for him.”
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