Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has named Alex Iwobi as the man to blame for the contract u-turn pulled by the club over star midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
The Welsh international is heading into the final year of his deal at the Emirates Stadium and talks were ongoing between the player and the club over extending his stay in north London.
However, as reported by the BBC, the Gunners were said to have pulled a shock u-turn over the talks, withdrawing their offer from the table and seeing talks between the parties collapse.
Now Wright has said that the emergence of 22-year-old Iwobi as a regular for the first team could well be a reason behind the decision to pull the shock move which leaves Ramsey on the brink of leaving for nothing in summer.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We’ve seen he can score in big games, winning cup finals, but in respect of a consistent performer for the season, making the difference in the league when he’s needed? When was the last time he’s done that?
“Are they going to pay the kind of money he probably wants when you’ve got someone coming through like Iwobi? The impact he’s made in the last few games Iwobi, coming on and he’s actually replaced Ramsey and he’s made an impact.
“Maybe Unai Emery has seen that.”
Opinion
It is only a theory thrown out there by Wright but he might well be onto something. Ramsey used to be the man who could change a game with a moment of magic, be it a brilliant bit of skill or simply being in the right place at the right time, but recently he has failed to live up to what fans have come to expect. At 27, he is by no means an elder statesman of the club but nor is he a spring chicken, and with Iwobi looking to break through the ranks and make more of an impact than just off the substitutes’ bench, perhaps Emery has decided it is time to get rid of the hurdle that is the Welshman and replace him with a younger model. It could prove to be a decision which comes back to bite the club quite badly, for you know any number of top sides would love to make him part of their squads, but at the same time if Iwobi can provide the magic Ramsey once did, then there will be few complaints in the red half of north London.