Steve Nicol slams Alex Iwobi for costly miss in Everton 1-0 loss v West Ham
Everton attacking midfielder Alex Iwobi missed a huge chance to put his side ahead during Sunday’s 1-0 loss to West Ham at Goodison Park.
The Toffees finally got some breathing space 30 minutes into the game, with Demarai Gray firing the ball in after going past Angelo Ogbonna with a drop of the shoulder.
However, Iwobi completely missed his kick, wasting a great chance to put Everton ahead.
Steve Nicol was disappointed, slamming the Nigerian international for failing to get the simple basics right.
The former Liverpool star told ESPN UK: “The strange thing is Everton could have been up at half-time. Iwobi had…you know you talk about the fundamentals.
“There is a ball coming across, probably from seven yards out. A straight ball with pace on it, Iwobi is watching it from all the way, and all he has to do is side-foot it, use the pace of the ball.
“You know it’s something that professional footballers should know, but Iwobi hasn’t been having the best time. He’s had a swing at it, he’s completely missed and it’s gone through his legs.
“That could have changed the game forever. Would have deserved that? Absolutely not.”
Woeful
Iwobi should not be failing to connect with the ball, and while no player is above error, a pro playing for a club like Everton should be doing better.
The attacker was handed an opportunity to prove himself to Rafa Benitez with Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin out injured, and he failed to impress.
Gray delivered the perfect cross, and the Blues should have been a goal up.
That would have boosted their chances of winning, but Iwobi failed to get the basics right.
He has been underwhelming since joining Everton from Arsenal in the summer of 2019 in a £35million deal, and that missed summed his Toffees career to date up.
The Goodison Park outfit want to be challenging for the top-six regularly, and they will need better attacking options than Iwobi if they are indeed serious about realising their lofty ambitions.
In other Everton news, Benitez has admitted he finds it hard to understand Toffees man sometimes.
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