Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi has expressed elation at breaking Mikel Obi’s record for the Nigerian player with the most minutes in the English Premier League, Soccernet.ng reports.
Iwobi has been a regular Premier League player since 2015, when he started getting minutes at Arsenal. Then, he moved to Everton in 2019 before joining Fulham last year.
The versatile 28-year-old star had a good campaign with the Cottagers in the just-concluded Premier League season, registering five goals and two assists in 30 appearances.
But in the course of the season, Iwobi made history. The former Arsenal man surpassed 16,289 minutes in Fulham’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle, and that took him past Super Eagles legend Mikel, who had the most minutes while playing for Chelsea between 2006-2017.
Following his feat, Iwobi has expressed happiness because he rates Mikel highly.
“That’s (breaking Mikel’s record) crazy, but I’m not trying to stop. I’m trying to increase that, keep going, and whoever is going to come for that title has got to put in hard work,” Iwobi said.
“That’s a big achievement because John Obi Mikel is a legend in the game. The fact that I’ve played with him makes me feel old. He was actually my idol at one point. He’s a legend.”
“Mikel Obi was my idol at one point”
– Alex Iwobi pic.twitter.com/8Ctufh3N6Z
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) June 1, 2024
Iwobi still has a lot of years ahead of him, which means he will continue to pile up the minutes. It would be really difficult for another Nigerian player to break the record.