Fulham coach addresses Iwobi’s social media outburst — “The most important thing”

Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has reacted to rumours of a rift within the squad following the club’s disappointing start to the new season, with Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi among the players at the centre of speculation, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Cottagers have endured a difficult start to the campaign under Arbeloa, who replaced Marco Silva at the end of last season after the Portuguese coach left the club.

The situation appeared to worsen following Fulham’s 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace in their last Premier League outing, with several players taking to social media to express their frustration after the match.

Brazilian forward Kevin posted an Instagram story expressing his disappointment after being left as an unused substitute against Palace. Meanwhile, Super Eagles star Iwobi and England international Emile Smith Rowe removed everything related to Fulham from their Instagram pages, raising questions over their long-term futures at the club.

Iwobi was also jeered by Fulham supporters after he was substituted in the 82nd minute of the Palace defeat, while the reactions of some of his teammates afterwards appeared to fuel speculation that there was a lack of harmony within the dressing room.

Iwobi: What Arbeloa said about Super Eagles midfielder and the squad

Fulham travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in a matchday four Premier League clash, with the Cottagers looking to secure their first win of the season.

However, speaking ahead of the game, Arbeloa dismissed suggestions of a dressing-room rift and insisted that his players have shown a positive attitude in training despite their poor results.

“You can learn more about a group after a defeat than after a win, and I saw them work during the week with a very positive attitude, all of them”, the Fulham boss said, via ESPN.

“For sure when you are a player and you are not playing, you can't be happy. It is what I expect from the players that are not playing.

“I want that they should need to show me that they are not happy during the training session. For me, this is the most important thing.

“Obviously, when you are not winning games and you are not helping your team, I think you have more desire to play games and to help their teammates.

“But all of them, they have been working so hard and I have a very, very good group with a very good attitude.”

Arbeloa confident ahead of Liverpool clash

Fulham face a tough test against Liverpool, having failed to win at Anfield since their 1-0 victory there in 2021.

Arbeloa knows his side will need to improve if they are to get a result against the Premier League champions, but he remains confident in their ability to take their chances after creating plenty of opportunities in their opening games.

“We have a massive game this week. We know we need to improve and we have to adjust some parts of our game, but we are focused on the game tomorrow”, the former Real Madrid coach added.

“We can score goals against any team in the Premier League, that is the thing we are doing so well, creating so many chances and are aggressive without the ball. When you play against a team like Liverpool, with very good players, you need to control them when you have the ball.”

“You can see that they [Liverpool] are improving, now controlling the games better. I watched their Champions League game against Atlético Madrid, they did a very good game — they are so aggressive and press high.

“They are so quick up front and have a top squad. Maybe they can make some changes, but they will still start with top players”, he concluded.

Iwobi will be in contention for another start for Fulham after reaching a major milestone in the Premier League. The Super Eagles midfielder recently became the fifth player in Premier League history, and the first African player, to make at least 100 appearances in the competition for three different clubs.

He will now be hoping to help Fulham turn their fortunes around, starting with a difficult trip to Liverpool, as they search for their first Premier League victory of the season.