Alex Iwobi has divulged that he almost quit Arsenal when the club refused to tie the Super Eagles forward down to a contract at the early stage of his career.
Iwobi, who was then 16 and featuring in England youth setups, was told he could leave his English Premier League side and had started reviewing offers from other teams, including a visit to Crystal Palace.
“My situation was weird,” Iwobi said in an Arsenal matchday programme interview.
“There was three of us at the time and we were basically told ‘stay if you want, or if not you are free to go.
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“It was up to me and at that moment I went to the Crystal Palace training ground to see them.
“I had offers from Celtic and Southampton as well. Celtic was the main one but I wasn’t ready to go to Scotland.
“I thought it was best to stay at Arsenal but I have to say it felt weird.
“I was playing for England but I felt maybe I wasn’t rated.
“My England team-mates and everyone else was getting in my ear saying that Arsenal doesn’t love me because they weren’t offering me a deal.
“It was hard especially because at school as well everyone was talking about it.”
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
