For Alex Iwobi, a breakthrough season that was ticking along smoothly has all of a sudden caught fire in the last week. A surprise inclusion the starting eleven against Barcelona was followed up by a full Premier League debut at Goodison Park at the weekend. He justified his inclusion with composed, mature performances in Arsenal’s front three, dovetailing fluidly with Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez. His first senior goal against Everton on Saturday was in his fourteenth appearance of the season as his rise to the first team has taken even himself by surprise.

‘I never thought I would get this far,’ said the 19-year-old. ‘I honestly thought I was going to go on loan at the start of the season. The manager has tried to show some faith in me and I am trying to prove him right by playing well every time I play.’

The young Nigerian has been true to his word. It may have taken his man of the match exploits at the weekend for the attention to come his way but he has played well every time he’s been given the chance. In all four starts he’s made in the FA Cup it has been noticeable just how at ease he appears performing at this level. Not overawed by the situation, he’s often seen asking for the ball in advanced positions and appears comfortable taking on a man or laying off to a teammate. Frequently young players are seen to be overly keen to make an impression when given their do-or-die chance in the first team. Their desperation can resulting in overplaying and is a result of their inexperience and rawness from youth level. What has advanced Iwobi’s development compared to his peers is his intelligence. Yes, he’s a strong, quick and technically sound player but his awareness and decision making have given Arsene Wenger the confidence to trust him at this stage of the season despite his tender age.

What seems significant about Iwobi’s breakthrough is the impact it’s made on the team as a collective rather than just a boost to his individual acclaim. There would appear no greater way to ‘lay a marker’ on your first team debut than to score a well taken goal, but in fact his all round contribution will have pleased the manager more. Not just because he ticks off the required repertoire that an ‘all round player’ needs by being able to – defend, attack, dribble, shoot, pass, run – but more importantly because his contributions have complemented and enhanced the impact those around him. While not completely back to his best, Alexis Sanchez has had much more room to roam since Iwobi’s inclusion and the Chilean’s impact on games is growing. Similarly with Mesut Ozil who benefitted from the space Iwobi created against Everton while he is noticeably building a strong partnership with Danny Welbeck which seems to stem from an off-field bond.

‘He gives me confidence, he is helping me out and gives me advice.’

Arsenal’s attack has become stale and frozen just when they needed to move into top gear. Any fluidity has been lost but Wenger has seen sense to shuffle the pack and Iwobi has benefitted from a change of emphasis by the manager. It is going to be all too late to save the season but Iwobi has seized the opportunity presented to him in light of Arsenal’s mire. Of course, as with any young player whose breakthrough is all so fresh, his inclusion in Arsenal’s first team plans is not indefinitely guaranteed. The current cloud surrounding the club makes it difficult to predict the state of affairs come the beginning of next season with any degree of certainty, let alone that of a youth player just finding his feet.

Yet, like with Hector Bellerin’s markedly quick emergence from young hopeful to first team regular last season, Iwobi’s rise does not feel like a convenient accident. Currently on international duty with Nigeria hoping to build on his two caps, Iwobi’s career has been building momentum for some time. He joined the club as a schoolboy at eight-years-old and has risen through the youth ranks until presented with a chance to lead the Under 21’s attack at roughly this time last year. And what has proven to be a familiar trait in a fruitful 12 months, Iwobi recognized his opportunity and grasped it. He would go on a goal scoring spree that was impossible to ignore. It give him the ‘buzz’ and he was hungry for more. Arsene Wenger saw enough to include him on the preseason tour and yet again Iwobi wouldn’t leave unnoticed. Weeks later he was playing in front of 60,000 fans at the Emirates Cup. Such a quick turnaround of events might be overawing for some but only the feelings of excitement and motivation were at play for this young man.

‘The fact that I scored and played quite well made it even better. I’m going to cherish that moment for the rest of my life.’

It may have only been a pre-season friendly against Lyon but he had a taste of the glory and inevitably, he wanted more. It would come eight months later when he would confidently slide the ball underneath Joel Robles for Arsenal’s second in a two nil victory against Everton. This time his post-match remarks were slightly different.

‘It’s not bad, I’m enjoying the moment’

It’s not bad scoring for your boyhood club in the Premier League, but eventually the ‘living the dream’ novelty wears thin. We’re all enjoying Alex Iwobi’s moment but at this rate we may need to revaluate his childhood ambitions as they take the form of realistic first team goals.