‘Fans In Nigeria Don’t Ask For Autographs, They Ask For Boots And Money’ – Alex Iwobi

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Super Eagles and Arsenal midfielder, Alexander Iwobi, spoke about his meteoric rise to the Arsenal first team, coming to Nigeria to represent the Super Eagles feels and also how his life has since changed.

He said:
“Everyone appreciates you. You’re almost like a king!”

“When I arrived at the airport I thought, I’ll just have my earphones in, but everyone was like ‘Iwobi! Iwobi!’ Oh gosh. Hi guys! I didn’t know what to expect. It was just mad. I always go with Kelechi Iheanacho. When we go we get escorted. Because I’m not used to the Nigerian culture as much as they are, they do help me with it. I can’t really speak the language that well. They help me with the fans. The fans are very different there. They don’t ask me for autographs, they ask for boots, money.”

“At my debut we played in a stadium that holds 30,000 and there was 60,000 – I don’t understand how. People were standing on the floodlights, on the scoreboard. I was thinking, ‘What? This isn’t even safe!’ But people there will do anything to watch the match. Sometimes in a Premier League game the fans are a bit quiet but in Nigeria you just hear trumpets, everything. The atmosphere is so different compared to England.”