Arsene Wenger Won't Drop Alex Iwobi From Arsenal Squad as Punishment for Late-Night Partying
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has vowed not to punish Alex Iwobi for his off-field antics by dropping him from the Gunners' squad.
Iwobi, 21, was filmed partying into the wee hours of Saturday morning, less than 48-hours ahead of Arsenal's FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
A video emerged of the attacker having a blast at a party in Soho at 02:37, breaking the curfew set by Arsene Wenger.
And the manager had indicated that the player would be punished if the timeline was confirmed.
“If that is true, he will be fined,” Wenger declared. “It is impossible to go out 48 hours before a game. It’s unacceptable. I will have to see him to see if that is right or not."
Speaking in a subsequent presser, however, the Frenchman revealed that Iwobi's punishment won't leave him sidelined.
"There is one thing to punish somebody individually and a second thing to punish everybody," he said, via Goal.
"If I think that he can help the team to win, it's nothing to do with the fact that he can be punished separately and individually."
Arsenal legend Ian Wright disagrees, though, and has lashed out at Wenger for allowing the youngster to participate in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Wednesday.
"For a youngster to do that says to me that there is something wrong in the dressing room," he said on Sky's The Debate (via the Standard).
"You can't have a youngster feeling like he can do that and still play. Arsene Wenger should have had a stronger stance on this one.
"People laugh at Arsenal and see them as a bit of a joke at the moment. Players don't want to be there, and it feels like everything is losing control at Arsenal."