Thursday 30 March 2017 12:53, UK
Alex Iwobi wants to silence Arsenal’s critics and show they can beat the teams around them at the top of the Premier League, starting this weekend against Manchester City, live on Super Sunday.
Arsenal suffered a fourth defeat in five league games in their last Premier League outing against West Brom, which intensified pressure on Arsene Wenger as he tries to guide the Gunners into the Champions League for the 21st season in a row.
They currently sit fifth in the league, five points behind Liverpool in fourth - albeit with a game in hand.
The gap to Chelsea at the top is a massive 19 points and one of the reasons Wenger's men have struggled this season is their form against the other top teams.
From seven games against fellow top four hopefuls, they've won just one and lost four, including a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium against City earlier this season.
"We need to change that record," Iwobi told Sky Sports News HQ. "That's in the past though - we need to prepare for the present. I believe with the players we've got - we've been working hard - that we can do it.
"We've not been doing as well as we should've been doing. But every team goes through a rough spell and it's ours at the moment. I'm sure we'll bounce back.
"Judging on how everyone did on international duty - everybody did well - then the confidence will slowly be getting back. We'll prepare this week and we'll do our best. Hopefully we can come out with the result we need.
"Every game is vital - we're taking it game-by-game. We just need to concentrate, prepare right and do the job."
If Iwobi is selected for the Super Sunday clash then he could come up against his international teammate Kelechi Iheanacho.
The pair have been on international duty together with Nigeria, where Iheanacho netted a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Senegal in a World Cup qualification match.
Iwobi admits the duo are good friends and have been sharing a few jokes about the match during Nigeria's training camp.
"We've had a bit of banter this week," he said. "He was trying to persuade me to come to Manchester City and I was trying to persuade him to come to Arsenal. I'd like to play against him.
"We've talked about the game a little bit, but we've been focused on playing for Nigeria. I've just got to prepare now and beat him!"
Alex Iwobi was speaking at an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the PL Kicks programme, an estates-based football initiative with sessions designed to give kids a safe place to play football. More information on PL Kicks is available here.
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