Alex Iwobi
Nigerian footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexander Chuka Iwobi MON (/ɪˈwoʊbi/ ih-WOH-bee;[3] born 3 May 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Nigeria national team.
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Iwobi in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alexander Chuka Iwobi[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 May 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Fulham | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2015 | Arsenal | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Arsenal | 100 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2023 | Everton | 123 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Fulham | 94 | (18) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | England U16 | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | England U17 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | England U18 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015– | Nigeria | 98 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:25, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:25, 31 March 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Iwobi began his career at Arsenal, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2017 and finished as runner-up for the EFL Cup in 2018 and UEFA Europa League in 2019. In 2019, Iwobi transferred to Everton, and in 2023 he joined Fulham.
Iwobi represented England up to under-18 level. 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 (finishing third), 2021, 2023 (being runner-up) and 2025 (finishing third).
Early life
Club career
Arsenal
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Iwobi joined Arsenal while still at primary school,[10][11] in 2004,[12] and was nearly released by the club at the age of 14 and again at the age of 16.[7]
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.[13] He signed a long-term contract with Arsenal in October 2015.[10][14]
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.[15][16] 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.[17] Iwobi made his Champions League debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 5–1 defeat against Bayern Munich.[18] Iwobi started in the first team for the 2015–16 FA Cup 3rd and 4th round home wins against Sunderland and Burnley respectively.[19][20]
After getting a first Champions League start in a 3–1 away defeat to Barcelona,[21] Iwobi went on to score two goals in his first two Premier League starts in wins against Everton,[22] and Watford, respectively.[23]
In the following season, Iwobi changed his squad number from 45 to 17, after Alexis Sánchez took number 7 from the departing Tomáš Rosický.[24] He went on to feature throughout Arsenal's victorious FA Cup campaign of 2016–17, winning 2–1 against Chelsea in the final.[25] He achieved further success with Arsenal in the 2017 Community Shield, in which Arsenal beat Chelsea on penalties.[26]
In January 2018, a video was released that allegedly showed Iwobi at a late-night party 36 hours before a match.[27] 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.[28]
In August 2018, he signed a new long-term contract with the club, reportedly until 2023.[29]
In January 2019, Iwobi was the subject of alleged racism from Indian actress Esha Gupta, an Arsenal ambassador. Gupta chose to share a screengrab of a WhatsApp conversation in which a friend mocked Iwobi as a "gorilla" and "Neanderthal" who "evolution had stopped for". Gupta later apologised.[30]
In May 2019, Iwobi scored Arsenal's only goal in the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final, in a 4–1 defeat to Chelsea.[31]
Everton
On 8 August 2019, Iwobi signed a five-year contract with Everton.[32] According to the BBC, Arsenal received a fee of an initial £28 million, rising to £34 million with potential add-ons.[33]
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.[34] 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.[35] 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.[36]
Iwobi was named Everton's Players' Player of the Season for 2022–23 after providing a club-high eight assists.[37]
Fulham
Iwobi signed for Fulham on 2 September 2023 for an undisclosed fee.[38][39]
On 16 September, Iwobi made his debut for Fulham as a 62nd minute substitute in a 1–0 win over Luton Town.[40] 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.[41]
On 27 November, Iwobi scored his first Premier League goal for Fulham in a 3–2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Craven Cottage.[42] On 6 December, he scored the first league brace of his career in a 5–0 win at home to Nottingham Forest.[43]
On 6 April 2024, in a game against Newcastle United, Iwobi became the Nigerian footballer with most minutes played in the history of the Premier League, surpassing the previous record held by Mikel John Obi.[44]
In January 2025, he spoke positively about the "brotherhood" of Fulham's squad.[45]
International career
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.[46][47][48] Iwobi earned 11 caps for England at underage level, but went on to declare for Nigeria in 2015. He made his senior debut for the Super Eagles on 8 October 2015 replacing Ahmed Musa in the 57th minute of a 2–0 friendly defeat to DR Congo in Visé, Belgium, before he had made a competitive appearance for his club.[49]
He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[50] He was not a part of the 18-man final squad.[51]
In August 2017 Iwobi pulled out of Nigeria's squad for that month's World Cup qualifiers due to injury.[52] In October 2017, Iwobi scored for Nigeria in a 1–0 win over Zambia to secure the Super Eagles a spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[53] He was named in Nigeria's 23-man squad for the competition and featured in all three games as the Super Eagles were knocked out in the group stage.[54][55]
He was included in Nigeria's squad for the 2019 AFCON tournament. At the tournament in Egypt, Iwobi played in six of Nigeria's seven matches and scored one goal—a decisive 77th-minute winner in the round of 16 against defending champions Cameroon (3–2)—as the Super Eagles claimed bronze, their best finish since 2013.[56] After the tournament he said he was looking forward to returning to club football with Arsenal.[57]
Iwobi was named in the Nigeria squad for the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in 2022.[58] He was given a red card five minutes after coming on as a substitute in the knockout stage match against Tunisia, a match Nigeria lost 0–1.[59] At the 2023 African Cup of Nations, Iwobi was also in the Nigerian squad and played all seven games as Nigeria emerged runner-up, losing the final game to hosts, Ivory Coast.[60]
Iwobi was included in the Nigerian team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco,[61] earning a bronze medal.[62]
Personal life
In December 2024, Iwobi opened a temporary shop in east London which gave out free food for local residents for Christmas.[63]
Musical career
In 2024, Iwobi launched a music career under the stage name "17," a reference to his shirt number at Fulham.[64][65][66] His debut single, titled "Don't Shoot," was released in June 2024 and featured contributions from former Arsenal teammate Chuba Akpom, performing as Skoli, and Medy Elito, also known as Don-EE.[67][68] The track received attention for its reflective lyrics and accumulated close to 60,000 streams on Spotify.[69]
In October 2024, Iwobi followed up with his second single, "What's Luv?," featuring artists SPKS and MBrown. The song contains themes exploring modern relationships.[70]
On 9 April 2026, Iwobi released his debut EP, More To Life. The nine-track project includes guest appearances from Fido, 24AM, Giddi, and SPKS.[71]
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
EPs
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| More To Life |
|
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 11 April 2026
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2015–16[72] | Premier League | 13 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| 2016–17[73] | Premier League | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[a] | 1 | — | 38 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18[74] | Premier League | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 39 | 3 | |
| 2018–19[75] | Premier League | 35 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11[b] | 2 | — | 51 | 6 | ||
| Total | 100 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 149 | 15 | ||
| Everton | 2019–20[76] | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21[77] | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| 2021–22[78] | Premier League | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23[79] | Premier League | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2023–24[80] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 123 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 9 | ||
| Fulham | 2023–24[80] | Premier League | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 6 | ||
| 2024–25[81] | Premier League | 38 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 9 | |||
| 2025–26[82] | Premier League | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 4 | |||
| Total | 94 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 19 | ||
| Career total | 317 | 35 | 23 | 1 | 29 | 4 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 396 | 43 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in FA Community Shield
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[83]
- As of match played 9 June 2022. Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.[83]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 October 2016 | Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia |  Zambia | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 7 October 2017 | Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria | Zambia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 14 November 2017 | Krasnodar Stadium, Krasnodar, Russia |  Argentina | 2–2 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 4–2 | |||||
| 5 | 2 June 2018 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  England | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 6 July 2019 | Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt |  Cameroon | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 7 | 17 November 2019 | Setsoto Stadium, Maseru, Lesotho |  Lesotho | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 8 | 13 November 2020 | Ogbe Stadium, Benin City, Nigeria |  Sierra Leone | 1–0 | 4–4 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 9 | 3–0 | |||||
| 10 | 9 June 2022 | Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria | Sierra Leone | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Honours
Arsenal
- FA Cup: 2016–17[84]
- FA Community Shield: 2015,[85] 2017[86]
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2017–18[87]
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2018–19[88]
England U16
- Victory Shield: 2011[48]
Nigeria
Individual
- CAF Youth Player of the Year: 2016[92]
- CAF Team of the Year: 2016 (as a substitute)[93]
- Everton Players' Player of the Year: 2023[94]
Orders
Member of the Order of the Niger[95]
