Arsene Wenger has stated that Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi would be fined if it turns out to be true that he attended a wild drug-fuelled house party the day before Arsenal’s 4-2 shock defeat to Championship club Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.
According to British tabloid The Sun, Iwobi was videoed screaming and dancing at 2.37am on Saturday in Soho, central London, at the wild bash where partygoers smoked cannabis and inhaled laughing gas.
Reacting to the issue in Tuesday’s press conference ahead of Arsenal’s first-leg Carabao Cup away clash against Chelsea on Wednesday, Wenger said he will have a one-on-one with Iwobi.
“If that is true he will be fined,” Wenger said. “It’s unacceptable.
“I will have to see him and see if that is right or not.”
Wenger added: “If he was at a birthday party, how long has he stayed? That is very important. After that I will decide what happens. If your neighbour takes drugs, what can you do about it? You are responsible for your behaviour.
“You must have played football, you want to prepare 100% but sometimes it is not a guarantee that you will be at your best. But that is what is requested from a top professional.”
Wenger, who is currently serving a three-match touchline ban for misconduct, expressed hope that his side will bounce back against Chelsea while reiterating his side’s poor performance against Forest.
“We take the criticism on board and we want to respond in a positive way.
“We’re in the last four and we won the FA Cup three times in the last four years.
“You have to expect it will not happen every year, but we did not produce the performance we expect.
“It’s the first time it’s happened in 21 years. I am very disappointed by some individual performances.”
He went on to state that his wish is to win this season’s Carabao Cup.
“I would love to win it because we are now in the semi-final.
“If there’s an opportunity we will try to take it.
“There’s still a long way to go. It’s similar to what we saw last year in the FA Cup.”
On reports that Manchester City are closing in on Alexis Sanchez, Wenger said: “No. I expect nothing. I am focused on tomorrow’s game. When solicitations happen you respond to it. At the moment it’s very quiet. I have nothing to add.
“What is the most important thing is to be professional and to perform no matter what the environment is.
“It’s not a big influence on the performance of our team.
“I have not decided yet [whether he will play]. I will decide today or tomorrow morning.”
