Striking Alex Iwobi stat many observers have missed

The manner of Alex Iwobi’s goal in Everton’s 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers was an antithesis of the Nigerian. 

He hit the ball hard and true along the floor, beating Jose Sa with the force he generated to halve the deficit. 

It was the former Arsenal player’s first Premier League goal of the season and his first since scoring at the same ground in the corresponding fixture last season. 

Interestingly, the 66th-minute goal was Iwobi’s second shot that has hit the target all season, and maybe therein lies the problem. 

Statistics on Fbref show that the Nigerian has attempted 11 shots so far in 2021/22, only four colleagues have attempted more, but the West African falls to seventh for volume of efforts on target. 

Hitting only 18.2 percent of his shots places him third-bottom in the Everton roster and he’s one of the lowly-ranked players at Goodison Park for shots on target per 90. 

Despite the attacking midfielder’s low-scoring nature, this season reveals Iwobi’s attempting more efforts at goal (2.17 shots per 90) than he’s ever done in the first two years on Merseyside (1.30 in 19/20 and 0.88 per 90 last season) and could be rewarded more often if he sorts out his off-kilter accuracy. 

While this year’s average is from a small sample size of games, two shots on target in five starts is almost level with last year’s tally (three) but a long way from 19/20’s volume (nine shots on target).

Whether he finally nets multiple league goals for Everton this year remains to be seen but there’s reason to believe Iwobi could add to his tally if he avoids injury and, importantly, improves his so-far flawed precision. 

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Seye Omidiora is a passionate football writer and pundit whose deep appreciation for the beautiful game exceeds the usual. He is currently a columnist for Goal Africa and has previously written for Vital Football UK, IBCity Info and Opera News.

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