Fulham and Nigeria star Alex Iwobi has revealed that Unai Emery never wanted him to leave Arsenal — but the club’s hierarchy decided otherwise in a move driven by business rather than football, Soccernet.ng reports.
Iwobi, a product of Arsenal’s famed Hale End Academy, made his senior debut under Arsène Wenger and featured regularly during the Frenchman’s final seasons.
When Emery arrived as Wenger’s successor in 2018, the Nigerian midfielder enjoyed his most prominent spell in an Arsenal shirt — making 51 appearances in all competitions during the 2018/19 season, scoring six goals and providing nine assists.
That campaign culminated in a Europa League final against Chelsea, where Iwobi came off the bench to score a fine goal in a big defeat.
But despite being a trusted figure in Emery’s plans, Iwobi was sold to Everton in the summer of 2019 shortly after helping Nigeria win bronze at the Africa Cup of Nations.
‘This is business’– Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi shares cute Unai Emery hotel story about Arsenal exit
Speaking on The Inside Scoop podcast, Iwobi recalled how Emery confided in him after the transfer — revealing that he never wanted the move to happen.
“I was staying in a hotel at the time (after joining Everton). Arsenal must have played Liverpool and were staying in my hotel. I come back from training and I see the whole team having lunch. I’ve gone to say hello and I spoke to Unai Emery,” Iwobi said.
“He said: ‘Listen, Alex, this is football. I didn’t want you to go. The last game was the Europa League final, I had you in my plans. You have always been someone who was willing to work for the team. I didn’t want you to go, but at the end of the day, this is business.’
“I said: ‘Yeah, there’s no hard feelings, it’s fine.’ He spoke to me on a level, that’s why I respect him. I’ll always have respect for Unai Emery.”
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Iwobi was on holiday preparing to return to pre-season with Arsenal when he was informed that Everton had submitted a £40 million offer — and that the Gunners had already sent his medical records to the Merseyside club. Although the move came as a shock, he reluctantly agreed to the switch.
Arsenal had just completed the record signing of Nicolas Pépé and needed to balance their finances. Iwobi, a player with market value but not guaranteed a starting place, became the casualty.
Since then, Iwobi has rebuilt his Premier League career. He made 123 league appearances for Everton before joining Fulham in 2023, where he has become a key figure under Marco Silva.
In the 2024/25 season, he featured in all 37 of Fulham’s Premier League games so far, starting 35 times, scoring nine goals and providing six assists.