“This Season Has Been The Most Mentally Challenging Of My Career,” – Alex Iwobi

Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi has admitted that the just concluded 2021/22 season was the “most mentally challenging” season of his career.

Iwobi started in eight of a possible seventeen Premier League games in the first half of the season. The 26-year-old failed to hold down a permanent berth under Rafa Benitez as the club plunged into relegation trouble.

Iwobi’s poor form carried over to the international level, as he underwhelmed at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon this year. He was shown a straight red card barely minutes after coming on against Tunisia in the R16 of the tournament, where Nigeria lost 1-0.

Things changed for Iwobi in February, when Benitez was replaced in the Everton dugout by Frank Lampard. Lampard made the most of the Nigerian international, frequently using him as a right-wing-back or midfielder.

Iwobi produced some of the best football of his career to date and was a major reason why the Merseyside club remained in the Premier League. Under Lampard, he started all but one league game, putting in outstanding performances.

The former Arsenal player has now reflected on the season, acknowledging that it was the most difficult of his career while also claiming that the experience has made him stronger and hungrier than before.

“The most mentally challenging season of my career so far is over and I’m proud to have come out of the other side stronger, sharper, and hungrier than ever,” Iwobi wrote on Twitter.

Everton finished 16th in the league rankings with 39 points, four points above the final relegation spot. Iwobi appeared in 28 league games and logged 2,037 minutes of playing time, scoring two goals and assisting on two others. He has been named to Nigeria’s 30-man squad for upcoming friendlies against Mexico (May 29) and Ecuador (June 3).