He is tough, fearless and a talented kid - Football Greats hails Alex Iwobi

Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea greats, Dietmar Hamann, Rio Ferdinand and Gianfranco Zola, have all showered encomiums on Nigeria youngster Alex Iwobi following his five-star performance in Arsenal's 3-0 win against Chelsea on Saturday at the Emirates.

Iwobi was the standout performer in Saturday's London derby as he bagged the Man-of-the-Match award.

The 20-year-old was involved in Arsenal's second goal which was scored by Theo Walcott.

Writing in his Paddy Power blog, Hamann described Iwobi as a young talent that will do great things.

“Alex Iwobi brings that physical presence, he is tough and fearless and a really talented kid. He can definitely make a big impact," the former Germany midfielder wrote.

In his analysis, Ferdinand told BT Sport Iwobi plays like a seasoned professional.

“He [Iwobi] plays like an experienced, veteran player in between the lines, in between Chelsea defence and midfielders. He doesn’t stand still, he plays with an intent to hurt the opposition and he did that better than anyone on the pitch,” former England defender Ferdinand said.

And on his part, Zola also told BT Sport: “He was absolutely fantastic and I gave him myself the man of the match. Not only him (Iwobi) Arsenal played in a fantastic way.

“We always said that Arsenal play good football. Sometimes I felt like they were getting a little bit sterile because they were passing sideways, but Saturday they were direct in some moments and it was very difficult for Chelsea because they were getting into good positions but they couldn’t do anything.”