Iwobi: Working with Mkhitaryan can help me shine for Nigeria

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nigeria international Alex Iwobi has said that training with talented players at Arsenal, including Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, should stand him in good stead for Nigeria’s World Cup campaign, FourFourTwo reveals.

The Super Eagles face Croatia in their opening group game in Kaliningrad on June 16, before taking on tournament debutants Iceland and Lionel Messi’s Argentina, who lost in the final four years ago.

Nigeria have been drawn in the same group as the Albiceleste in each of their last three World Cup appearances, narrowly losing 1-0 in 2002 and 2010, before going down 3-2 in Brazil last time out.

But Iwobi believes his experience working with stars such as Mesut Ozil and Mkhitaryan can help Nigeria finally upset the odds when they meet the South American giants in St Petersburg.

Speaking in the June 2018 issue of the football magazine, he says: “The fact I’ve been training with world-class players every day has given me a bit of experience, so I’ll know what to expect in Russia. The intensity I train at with Arsenal is very high, so I’m preparing in a good way. I feel like I can do well.”

Iwobi proved the hero for Nigeria last October, when his goal against Zambia secured a 1-0 win for the Super Eagles and booked their berth at a third consecutive finals.