Alex Iwobi Matches Mohamed Salah Premier League Record

A milestone win for Iwobi

Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi reached 328 Premier League appearances on Saturday after playing in his side's 1-0 win at Coventry City. Oscar Bobb scored the winning goal. The win follows another 1-0 victory against Hull City last week, where Iwobi scored the decisive goal.

Iwobi is now tied with Egypt star Mohamed Salah for the second most appearances by an African player in Premier League history. The 30 years old midfielder made his league debut almost 11 years ago for Arsenal on October 31 of 2015.

Chasing Kolo Toure

Iwobi needs 25 more games to equal Kolo Toure, who holds the record with 353 appearances across spells at Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool. Playing 26 more matches will give Iwobi the record outright.

NFF acting general secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme praised the player. He said the NFF celebrates Alex Iwobi for this new achievement and we wish him even greater glory. He added that they will be very happy to see him become the African with the most appearances in the Premier League in the near future.

Iwobi moved from Arsenal to Everton in 2019, before joining Fulham in September 2023. He previously broke Shola Ameobi's record of 298 games to become Nigeria's top appearance maker in the competition. He also holds Nigeria's Premier League assists record after beating Nwankwo Kanu's mark of 29 in 2024.

Other Nigerian Premier League greats

Iwobi sits ahead of several famous African players. Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha both have 305 appearances, while Ameobi has 298. Among Nigerians, Kanu finished on 273 matches, Yakubu Aiyegbeni on 252, John Mikel Obi on 249, and Joseph Yobo on 228.

Yobo set his own record by playing every minute of all 38 matches for Everton in the 2006-07 season. Yakubu remains Nigeria's top scorer in the league with 95 goals. Efan Ekoku was the first player to score four goals in a Premier League match when Norwich beat Everton 5-1 in September of 1993.