The former Arsenal winger has only played twice under the Italian due to a hamstring problem but says his Doctrine has a familiar feeling to it. Everton winger Alex Iwobi says that he can see clear similarities between Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
Iwobi, 23, broke into the Gunners’ first team under Wenger in 2015, before leaving for Goodison Park in a £40 million ($49m) deal last summer.
He has barely featured under Ancelotti so far, having suffered an injury in the 0-0 draw with Arsenal in December with the Italian watching from the stands before taking the reins from interim boss Duncan Ferguson.
“They’re almost the same, considering it,” Iwobi told the Liverpool Echo of Wenger and Ancelotti.
“They are both very patient, they are not men of many words but when they do say something there’s a whole lot of wisdom. They are almost exactly the same.
“They like to play soccer; it’s almost like I’m working with the same man.
“It is not like I am back at Arsenal with Arsene Wenger but it’s almost the same philosophy and that I can buy into it easily and adapt to his plans straight away.”
After much fanfare about his arrival in the summer, Iwobi would have been hopeful of impressing his new manager against his former side as Arsenal went to Merseyside shortly before Christmas.
His game only lasted 11 minutes due to a hamstring injury, but he started and played over an hour in Everton’s stunning 3-2 win at Watford last week.
“I have never been injured before and I’m thinking’why against Arsenal?’ And ‘why when there is a new manager watching?'” Iwobi added on his injury.
“‘What have I done to deserve this fortune?’ But I took it on the chin and luckily I have great team-mates, we have good staff, superior family around me.”
“So I was able to forget about it fast and concentrate on getting back as soon as possible. It was a minor setback.
“Because I’d never had an accident before, I did not know what to do.
“When I injured myself in the game, I tried to continue, but that’s the worst thing I could have done.
“Everyone has had an injury in their own time, so when I got back in they were telling me what I should do, how I need to cope with it, don’t stress on trying to come back too quickly. It did help me and luckily, I managed to recover quicker than usual.
“I was told six weeks but I came back after four.
“Touch wood, it doesn’t happen again. I felt a pop in my hamstring and I thought I could play on but I could not so it was bizarre but it won’t happen again.”
