Head coach of Nigeria‘s under-23 Olympics team, Samson Siasia, is hopeful that talks between Arsene Wenger and Alex Iwobi‘s father will see the young star released by his club to represent his country in Rio this summer.
Iwobi emerged as the latest star to break through into Arsenal’s first-team from their academy earlier this year and was recently handed the No.17 shirt vacated by Alexis Sanchez – who takes the No.7 – a clear indication that he’s set to play a big part in Arsenal’s future.
The 20-year-old was born in Nigeria but could represent England, though he has already chosen his homeland and they would like him to represent them at the Olympics in Brazil later this summer.
Wenger, however, has already made clear he is not in favour of letting Iwobi participate as he sees him as a vital part of their squad.
Should Nigeria progress to the final at the Olympics, Iwobi would miss the opening game of the Premier League season and would be forced to skip pre-season training with Arsenal entirely.
However, Siasia is hopeful talks between Iwobi’s father and Wenger will see the Frenchman change his mind and allow the young midfielder to travel to Brazil.
“The chances of Iwobi going to the Olympics depends how well his father is able to make Arsene Wenger to have a change of mind,” Siasia said.
“Alex is a young man who will benefit much from playing against big stars like Neymar. He would be a great asset for us at the games.”
