Iwobi absence proves new importance to Everton

Everton went down to a dispiriting 1-0 loss to West Ham United at Goodison Park last night and one player who was missed was Alex Iwobi.

To say that Iwobi’s absence from an Everton team was noticed let alone missed, would have been an absurd thing to say even just a few weeks ago. Usually it has been his presence in the side that was itself almost always unnoticed!

Ever since his big money move from Arsenal, Iwobi has flattered to deceive and has failed to convince most Toffees fans that he can contribute to the evolution of the team being pursued under Carlo Ancelotti.

The Nigerian international has had several spells in and out of the Blues team without ever convincing supporters or his manager that he can do a job at Everton.

He’s generally operated on the left as he had at the Gunners and this was considered his best position in both his previous and new team.

More from Prince Rupert's Tower

• Everton 0 Arsenal 1: Blues fall to third home defeat
• Further chaos in Everton takeover as other lenders not keen on 777 Partners
• Everton need repeat of Arsenal win to kick-start their season on Sunday
• More madness at Everton as Moshiri now agrees to sell club to 777 Partners
• Everton takeover talk cools after UK govt doubts and further questions

Then with the arrival of James Rodriguez to link up with Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a new-look attack, Iwobi’s future looked even more in doubt.

But unsurprisingly given his history, Rodriguez has been bothered by a succession of injury problems and so just recently Iwobi, almost as a last-ditch option, was given the opportunity to fill in for him and stake a claim for a place in the team.

Most Toffees fans wouldn’t have been holding out much hope he could be anything more than just a temporary stop-gap.

But actually Iwobi has been excellent playing with determination, commitment and no little skill. He’s adapted to his new position very well and provided a different, but still effective alternative to the Colombian.

Iwobi’s best qualities are decent pace, his strength and instinct to run with the ball and commit defenders, so creating space for others to exploit.

He’s also shown a level of technical ability we had rarely glimpsed before, although his final ball is still inconsistent. We also hadn’t seen much of his willingness to track back and defend, which he’s also been doing lately.

So getting back to yesterday’s dreadful match, Everton were without Iwobi and Ancelotti gave Bernard another, possible final chance, to cement his position in the squad.

The Brazilian delivered his usual mix of trickery and occasional incisive passes without ever truly influencing the match. I think Iwobi would have offered a lot more drive and another direct attacking threat to support a hugely isolated Calvert-Lewin.

Rodriguez is now back and regaining match-fitness. I would expect him to return to the starting eleven, but at least if he can sustain this current form, Iwobi gives Ancelotti another viable and very different sort of option on that side.

This is important as last night’s defeat once again underlined the critical importance of a squad with enough depth to cope with injuries and provide the manager with tactical alternatives.