Exactly a year has passed since Alex Iwobi sat down with Standard Sport for his first major newspaper interview to discuss a whirlwind breakthrough.

Within the space of nine days, beginning in late October, 2015, the Nigerian midfielder made his debuts in the Capital One Cup, Premier League and Champions League and, thereafter, quickly established himself as a fixture in the Arsenal first team.

Iwobi admitted there had been little time to reflect on the speed of his rise but we now meet at the launch of EA SPORTS FIFA 18 following a spell of introspection.

It would be virtually impossible for any player to continue progressing at the rate Iwobi did but 2017 has posed the first serious test of the 21-year-old’s durability.

Having started 13 out of 14 matches in all competitions between mid-December and early March last season, Iwobi was sacrificed as manager Arsene Wenger reshuffled the Gunners in both personnel and formation.

After Wenger remoulded Arsenal into a 3-4-2-1 shape on April 17, the Gunners won nine of their final 10 games and lifted the FA Cup. Iwobi did not start in any of them.

“It was hard but something I had to learn from,” he said. “If you are not performing consistently at a club like Arsenal, then there are other players ready to take the opportunity — which I learned the tough way.

“I wasn’t involved as much as I wanted to be but I just had to be patient, still have the same attitude, work hard in training and wait for my chance again. That’s what I’ve been doing.

“Obviously, I am an attacking player, so when you are an attacking player, you need to create goals and get goals — and that’s the main thing for me. People in my position were doing better than me in that aspect of the game, which is to eventually win games, and that’s something I had to work on.

“I never played it [three at the back] as a youngster growing up. I have played several ­positions in it — left wing-back, left off the forward, central midfield. Whatever role I get told to play, I just have to adapt to it and play. I don’t really blame the system, I more blame myself.”

Plenty of people were ready to apportion blame during difficult times at ­Arsenal last season, described subsequently by Wenger as an “absolutely horrendous” psychological environment.

The unrelenting growth of social media exposes players to uncensored ­opinion — with no better example for Iwobi and his team-mates than Arsenal FanTV.

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Position: ST

Overall: 83

Potential: 94

AFP/Getty Images 2/100 Max Meyer (Schalke) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 79

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 3/100 Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax) Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 76

Potential: 89

AFP/Getty Images 4/100 Martin Odegaard (Heerenveen) Age: 18

Position: RW

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

Getty Images 5/100 Marcus Rashford (Man United) Age: 19

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Man Utd via Getty Images 6/100 Marcus Edwards (Tottenham) Age: 18

Position: LM

Overall: 73

Potential: 87

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 7/100 Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 84

Potential: 92

Getty Images 8/100 Manuel Locatelli (AC Milan) Age: 19

Position: CDM

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

Getty Images 9/100 Malcom (Bordeaux) Age: 20

Position: RW

Overall: 85

Potential: 79

AFP/Getty Images 10/100 Malang Sarr (Nice) Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 75

Potential: 88

AFP/Getty Images 11/100 Mahmoud Dahoud (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 79

Potential: 87

Bongarts/Getty Images 12/100 Lucas Tousart (Lyon) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 78

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 13/100 Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 76

Potential: 87

Getty Images 14/100 Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 77

Potential: 85

Getty Images 15/100 Leroy Sane (Man City) Age: 21

Position: LW

Overall: 82

Potential: 91

AFP/Getty Images 16/100 Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 20

Position: LM

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 17/100 Lautaro Martinez (Racing) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 72

Potential: 88

AFP/Getty Images 18/100 Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich) Age: 21

Position: RM

Overall: 79

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 19/100 Kelvin Amian Adou (Toulouse) Age: 19

Position: RB

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 20/100 Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 75

Potential: 86

Getty Images 21/100 Kasper Dolberg (Ajax) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 88

AFP/Getty Images 22/100 Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 18

Position: RM

Overall: 73

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 23/100 Justin Kluivert (Ajax) Age: 18

Position: RW

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 24/100 Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 21

Position CDM

Overall: 81

Potential: 87

Bongarts/Getty Images 25/100 Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 80

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 26/100 Josh Onomah (Aston Villa) Age: 20

Position: CAM

Overall: 72

Potential: 86

Getty Images 27/100 Joris Gnagnon (Stade Rennais) Age: 20

Position: CB

Overall: 75

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 28/100 Jordi Mboula (AS Monaco) Age: 18

Position: RM

Overall: 85

Potential: 68

AFP/Getty Images 29/100 Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 82

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 30/100 Jakub Jankto (Udinese) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 76

Potential: 87

Getty Images 31/100 Issa Diop (Toulouse) Age: 20

Position: CB

Overall: 76

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 32/100 Ismaila Sarr (Stade Rennais) Age: 19

Position: LM

Overall: 73

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 33/100 Han Kwang Song (Perugia) Age: 18

Position ST

Overall: 67

Potential: 86

Getty Images 34/100 Grimaldo (Benfica) Age: 21

Position: LB

Overall: 80

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 35/100 Giovani Lo Celso (PSG) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 36/100 Gabriel Jesus (Man City) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 81

Potential: 92

Getty Images 37/100 Franck Yannick Kessie (AC Milan) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 38/100 Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina) Age: 19

Position: RM

Overall: 75

Potential: 87

Getty Images 39/100 Ezequiel Barco (Independiente) Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 72

Potential: 90

AFP/Getty Images 40/100 Emre Mor (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 85

Potential: 70

Getty Images 41/100 Emanuel Mammana (Zenit) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 75

Potential: 86

Getty Images 42/100 Douglas Luiz (Girona) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 43/100 Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan) Age: 18

Position: GK

Overall: 82

Potential: 94

Getty Images 44/100 Diogo Jota (Wolves) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Getty Images 45/100 Denis Zakaria (Gladbach) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 72

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 46/100 Dele Alli (Tottenham) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 84

Potential: 90

AFP/Getty Images 47/100 Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 69

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 48/100 Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 81

Potential: 88

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 49/100 Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 78

Potential: 88

Getty Images 50/100 Cucurella (Barcelona B)

Position: LB

Overall: 67

Potential: 85

Getty Images Age: 19Position: LBOverall: 67Potential: 85 51/100 Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 18

Position: RM

Overall: 78

Potential: 89

Bongarts/Getty Images 52/100 Christian Fruchtl (Bayern Munich) Age: 17

Position: GK

Overall: 65

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 53/100 Breel Embolo (Schalke) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 76

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 54/100 Brahim Diaz (Man City) Age: 18

Position: CAM

Overall: 66

Potential: 85

Getty Images 55/100 Bartlomiej Dragowski (Fiorentina) Age: 20

Position: GK

Overall: 71

Potential: 86

Getty Images 56/100 Benjamin Henrichs (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 20

Position: RB

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 57/100 Antonio Sanabria (Real Betis) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 58/100 Anthony Martial (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 82

Potential: 90

Man Utd via Getty Images 59/100 Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica) Age: 21

Position: RM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 60/100 Andreas Pereira (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Man Utd via Getty Images 61/100 Andreas Christensen (Chelsea) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 81

Potential: 89

Getty Images 62/100 Andre Silva (AC Milan) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 63/100 Andre Onana (Ajax) Age: 21

Position: GK

Overall: 85

Potential: 78

AFP/Getty Images 64/100 Amadou Diawara Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 87

Potential: 77

AFP/Getty Images 65/100 Amath Ndiaye Diedhiou (Getafe) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 74

Potential: 87

Getty Images 66/100 Alex Meret (Spal) Age: 20

Position: GK

Overall: 74

Potential: 88

Getty Images 67/100 Alex Iwobi (Arsenal Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 74

Potential: 85

Arsenal FC via Getty Images 68/100 Alena (Barcelona) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 71

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 69/100 Alen Halilovic (UD Las Palmas) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 70/100 Alban Lafont (Toulouse) Age: 18

Position: GK

Overall: 77

Potential: 89

AFP/Getty Images 71/100 Youri Tielemans (AS Monaco) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 80

Potential: 90

AFP/Getty Images 72/100 Vincent Thill (FC Metz) Age: 17

Position: CAM

Overall: 63

Potential: 85

AFP/Getty Images 73/100 Vincent Koziello (Nice) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 85

Potential: 78

Getty Images 74/100 Viktor Kovalenko (Shakhtar Donetsk) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 75

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 75/100 Vallejo (Real Madrid) Age: 20

Position: CB

Overall: 85

Potential: 77

AFP/Getty Images 76/100 Tom Davies (Everton) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 73

Potential: 85

Getty Images 77/100 Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Crystal Palace) Age: 19

Position: RB

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 78/100 Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) Age: 21

Position ST

Overall: 82

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 79/100 Thomas Lemar (AS Monaco) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 83

Potential: 91

AFP/Getty Images 80/100 Theo Hernandez (Real Madrid) Age: 19

Position: LB

Overall: 85

Potential: 75

AFP/Getty Images 81/100 Tanguy Ndombele (Amiens) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 72

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 82/100 Tammy Abraham (Swansea) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

Getty Images 83/100 Sebastian Driussi (Zenit) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Getty Images 84/100 Santiago Ascacibar (Estudiantes) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 85/100 Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham) Age: 17

Position: LB

Overall: 85

Potential: 66

Getty Images 86/100 Rui Pedro (Porto) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 70

Potential: 85

AFP/Getty Images 87/100 Ruben Neves (Wolves) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Getty Images 88/100 Richarlison (Watford) Age: 20

Position: LM

Overall: 73

Potential: 85

Getty Images 89/100 Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 90/100 Patrik Schick (Roma) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 77

Potential: 87

Getty Images 91/100 Panagiotis Retsos (Olympiakos) Age: 19

Position: CB

Overall: 72

Potential: 85

Getty Images 92/100 Pablo Fornals (Villarreal) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 93/100 Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 79

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 94/100 Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 83

Potential: 90

Getty Images 95/100 Onyinye Ndidi (Leicester) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 96/100 Bruno Xadas (Braga) Age: 19

Position: RM

Overall: 74

Potential: 85

97/100 Nicolo Barella (Cagliari) Age: 20

Position:CM

Overall: 70

Potential: 86

Getty Images 98/100 Moussa Dembele (Celtic) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 75

Potential: 85

Getty Images 99/100 Nadiem Amiri (Hoffenheim) Age: 20

Position: CAM

Overall: 85

Potential: 77

Bongarts/Getty Images 100/100 Henry Onyekuru (Anderlecht) Age: 20

Position: LM

Overall: 75

Potential: 55

Rex 1/100 Kylian Mbappe (PSG) Age: 18

Position: ST

Overall: 83

Potential: 94

AFP/Getty Images 2/100 Max Meyer (Schalke) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 79

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 3/100 Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax) Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 76

Potential: 89

AFP/Getty Images 4/100 Martin Odegaard (Heerenveen) Age: 18

Position: RW

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

Getty Images 5/100 Marcus Rashford (Man United) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 79

Potential: 88

Man Utd via Getty Images 6/100 Marcus Edwards (Tottenham) Age: 18

Position: LM

Overall: 73

Potential: 87

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 7/100 Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 84

Potential: 92

Getty Images 8/100 Manuel Locatelli (AC Milan) Age: 19

Position: CDM

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

Getty Images 9/100 Malcom (Bordeaux) Age: 20

Position: RW

Overall: 85

Potential: 79

AFP/Getty Images 10/100 Malang Sarr (Nice) Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 75

Potential: 88

AFP/Getty Images 11/100 Mahmoud Dahoud (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 79

Potential: 87

Bongarts/Getty Images 12/100 Lucas Tousart (Lyon) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 78

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 13/100 Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 76

Potential: 87

Getty Images 14/100 Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 77

Potential: 85

Getty Images 15/100 Leroy Sane (Man City) Age: 21

Position: LW

Overall: 82

Potential: 91

AFP/Getty Images 16/100 Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 20

Position: LM

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 17/100 Lautaro Martinez (Racing) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 72

Potential: 88

AFP/Getty Images 18/100 Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich) Age: 21

Position: RM

Overall: 79

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 19/100 Kelvin Amian Adou (Toulouse) Age: 19

Position: RB

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 20/100 Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 75

Potential: 86

Getty Images 21/100 Kasper Dolberg (Ajax) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 88

AFP/Getty Images 22/100 Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 18

Position: RM

Overall: 73

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 23/100 Justin Kluivert (Ajax) Age: 18

Position: RW

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 24/100 Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 21

Position CDM

Overall: 81

Potential: 87

Bongarts/Getty Images 25/100 Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 80

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 26/100 Josh Onomah (Aston Villa) Age: 20

Position: CAM

Overall: 72

Potential: 86

Getty Images 27/100 Joris Gnagnon (Stade Rennais) Age: 20

Position: CB

Overall: 75

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 28/100 Jordi Mboula (AS Monaco) Age: 18

Position: RM

Overall: 85

Potential: 68

AFP/Getty Images 29/100 Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 82

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 30/100 Jakub Jankto (Udinese) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 76

Potential: 87

Getty Images 31/100 Issa Diop (Toulouse) Age: 20

Position: CB

Overall: 76

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 32/100 Ismaila Sarr (Stade Rennais) Age: 19

Position: LM

Overall: 73

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 33/100 Han Kwang Song (Perugia) Age: 18

Position ST

Overall: 67

Potential: 86

Getty Images 34/100 Grimaldo (Benfica) Age: 21

Position: LB

Overall: 80

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 35/100 Giovani Lo Celso (PSG) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 36/100 Gabriel Jesus (Man City) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 81

Potential: 92

Getty Images 37/100 Franck Yannick Kessie (AC Milan) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 38/100 Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina) Age: 19

Position: RM

Overall: 75

Potential: 87

Getty Images 39/100 Ezequiel Barco (Independiente) Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 72

Potential: 90

AFP/Getty Images 40/100 Emre Mor (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 85

Potential: 70

Getty Images 41/100 Emanuel Mammana (Zenit) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 75

Potential: 86

Getty Images 42/100 Douglas Luiz (Girona) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 43/100 Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan) Age: 18

Position: GK

Overall: 82

Potential: 94

Getty Images 44/100 Diogo Jota (Wolves) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Getty Images 45/100 Denis Zakaria (Gladbach) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 72

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 46/100 Dele Alli (Tottenham) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 84

Potential: 90

AFP/Getty Images 47/100 Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig Age: 18

Position: CB

Overall: 69

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 48/100 Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 81

Potential: 88

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 49/100 Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 78

Potential: 88

Getty Images 50/100 Cucurella (Barcelona B)

Position: LB

Overall: 67

Potential: 85

Getty Images Age: 19Position: LBOverall: 67Potential: 85 51/100 Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 18

Position: RM

Overall: 78

Potential: 89

Bongarts/Getty Images 52/100 Christian Fruchtl (Bayern Munich) Age: 17

Position: GK

Overall: 65

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 53/100 Breel Embolo (Schalke) Age: 20

Position: ST

Overall: 76

Potential: 88

Bongarts/Getty Images 54/100 Brahim Diaz (Man City) Age: 18

Position: CAM

Overall: 66

Potential: 85

Getty Images 55/100 Bartlomiej Dragowski (Fiorentina) Age: 20

Position: GK

Overall: 71

Potential: 86

Getty Images 56/100 Benjamin Henrichs (Bayer Leverkusen) Age: 20

Position: RB

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 57/100 Antonio Sanabria (Real Betis) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 58/100 Anthony Martial (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 82

Potential: 90

Man Utd via Getty Images 59/100 Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica) Age: 21

Position: RM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 60/100 Andreas Pereira (Man United) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Man Utd via Getty Images 61/100 Andreas Christensen (Chelsea) Age: 21

Position: CB

Overall: 81

Potential: 89

Getty Images 62/100 Andre Silva (AC Milan) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 78

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 63/100 Andre Onana (Ajax) Age: 21

Position: GK

Overall: 85

Potential: 78

AFP/Getty Images 64/100 Amadou Diawara Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 87

Potential: 77

AFP/Getty Images 65/100 Amath Ndiaye Diedhiou (Getafe) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 74

Potential: 87

Getty Images 66/100 Alex Meret (Spal) Age: 20

Position: GK

Overall: 74

Potential: 88

Getty Images 67/100 Alex Iwobi (Arsenal Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 74

Potential: 85

Arsenal FC via Getty Images 68/100 Alena (Barcelona) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 71

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 69/100 Alen Halilovic (UD Las Palmas) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Bongarts/Getty Images 70/100 Alban Lafont (Toulouse) Age: 18

Position: GK

Overall: 77

Potential: 89

AFP/Getty Images 71/100 Youri Tielemans (AS Monaco) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 80

Potential: 90

AFP/Getty Images 72/100 Vincent Thill (FC Metz) Age: 17

Position: CAM

Overall: 63

Potential: 85

AFP/Getty Images 73/100 Vincent Koziello (Nice) Age: 21

Position: CM

Overall: 85

Potential: 78

Getty Images 74/100 Viktor Kovalenko (Shakhtar Donetsk) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 75

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 75/100 Vallejo (Real Madrid) Age: 20

Position: CB

Overall: 85

Potential: 77

AFP/Getty Images 76/100 Tom Davies (Everton) Age: 19

Position: CM

Overall: 73

Potential: 85

Getty Images 77/100 Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Crystal Palace) Age: 19

Position: RB

Overall: 74

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 78/100 Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) Age: 21

Position ST

Overall: 82

Potential: 87

AFP/Getty Images 79/100 Thomas Lemar (AS Monaco) Age: 21

Position: LM

Overall: 83

Potential: 91

AFP/Getty Images 80/100 Theo Hernandez (Real Madrid) Age: 19

Position: LB

Overall: 85

Potential: 75

AFP/Getty Images 81/100 Tanguy Ndombele (Amiens) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 72

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 82/100 Tammy Abraham (Swansea) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

Getty Images 83/100 Sebastian Driussi (Zenit) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Getty Images 84/100 Santiago Ascacibar (Estudiantes) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 73

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 85/100 Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham) Age: 17

Position: LB

Overall: 85

Potential: 66

Getty Images 86/100 Rui Pedro (Porto) Age: 19

Position: ST

Overall: 70

Potential: 85

AFP/Getty Images 87/100 Ruben Neves (Wolves) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

Getty Images 88/100 Richarlison (Watford) Age: 20

Position: LM

Overall: 73

Potential: 85

Getty Images 89/100 Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich) Age: 20

Position: CM

Overall: 76

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 90/100 Patrik Schick (Roma) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 77

Potential: 87

Getty Images 91/100 Panagiotis Retsos (Olympiakos) Age: 19

Position: CB

Overall: 72

Potential: 85

Getty Images 92/100 Pablo Fornals (Villarreal) Age: 21

Position: CAM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 93/100 Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) Age: 20

Position: LW

Overall: 79

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 94/100 Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) Age: 20

Position: RM

Overall: 83

Potential: 90

Getty Images 95/100 Onyinye Ndidi (Leicester) Age: 20

Position: CDM

Overall: 77

Potential: 86

AFP/Getty Images 96/100 Bruno Xadas (Braga) Age: 19

Position: RM

Overall: 74

Potential: 85

97/100 Nicolo Barella (Cagliari) Age: 20

Position:CM

Overall: 70

Potential: 86

Getty Images 98/100 Moussa Dembele (Celtic) Age: 21

Position: ST

Overall: 75

Potential: 85

Getty Images 99/100 Nadiem Amiri (Hoffenheim) Age: 20

Position: CAM

Overall: 85

Potential: 77

Bongarts/Getty Images 100/100 Henry Onyekuru (Anderlecht) Age: 20

Position: LM

Overall: 75

Potential: 55

Rex

So, do the players ever tune in? “It would be a lie to say, ‘No, they haven’t watched it,’” said Iwobi. “Fans have the right to voice their opinion whether positive or negative, they are the lifeblood of the club. As a football player, you should learn how to deal with negative comments, it comes with the territory. Our focus is to play football and do well for the club.”

Wenger’s future was in the balance until after the end of the season and Iwobi admitted his relief that the only manager he has ever known opted to sign a new two-year deal.

“We were all concerned [that he might leave]” he said. “For me, as a player, he is someone who has given me an opportunity and had faith in me so I was a bit worried. “

Iwobi’s immediate task is to regain full fitness after suffering a thigh problem which ruled him out of Thursday's Europa League clash against BATE Borisov in Belarus.

When he does return, Iwobi will need to be ready at a moment’s notice. Despite intermittent ­involvement this season, he was suddenly called on to start Arsenal’s biggest match of the season to date, securing a gutsy 0-0 draw away at ­champions Chelsea, only finding out for certain he would play on the day of the game. And, after a slow start to the campaign, Iwobi believes the Gunners have turned the corner.

“Especially after the [4-0] loss against Liverpool in August, we had a lot of critics saying, ‘Arsenal are going to throw it away again’,” he said. “But we have bounced back, we were able to put in some good performances.

“Everyone wanted to prove to the world what we are capable of doing — and there is no better way of doing that than against the champions at their home ground.

“At the end of the day, there could be injuries which come left, right and centre, so you might be chucked in to play a Premier League game or on the Thursday in the Europa League. No matter the situation, you have to be ready for it.”

All the evidence suggests Iwobi will be.

Alex Iwobi was speaking at the launch of EA SPORTS FIFA 18, which is out tomorrow on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and all other platforms. To get your copy, head to easports.com/uk/fifa/buy/united-kingdom