Arsenal appear to have performed a major U-turn on Alex Iwobi’s participation at the Rio Olympics after the player’s agent claimed his club had blocked Nigeria’s bid to call him up.
Iwobi, 20, was last month named in his country’s provisional 35-man
squad for the tournament but both his agent, Emeka Obasi, and Nigeria’s
U23 coach Samson Siasia have claimed that Arsenal have said they would
not allow him to participate.
Obasi said: “We held talks with Arsenal to see if it would be
possible but in the end the decision has been made and we just have to
move on from it.
“Of course I think Alex would have gained a lot from a competition
where the likes of Barcelona's Neymar want to play in.I'm certain the standard will be high and as I said Alex was quick to go, however it's not his choice to make."