Oxlade-Chamberlain

Aren't we jumping the gun here?
Guess Chamberlain needs to have a full season under his belt IMO,which he unfortunately get @ Arsenal.Maybe a Jenko type loan should do him good.

But the initial promise that the Brit core showed seems to be fading away too soon.

srigooner wrote:

REWB wrote:pretty much the brittish core we have are average bar ramsey who's walsh.

exactly what I was thinking

i missed out walcott, he's a useful player for sure. But thats it unfortunately.

T-Mach wrote:Aren't we jumping the gun here?
Guess Chamberlain needs to have a full season under his belt  IMO,which he unfortunately get @ Arsenal.Maybe a Jenko type loan should do him good.

But the initial promise that the Brit core showed seems to be fading away too soon.

A loan might do him good, but its 50-50 as to whether he builds a footballing brain, it really is.

I hated the fact that walcott had a stigma of having no footballing brain when he was young i really didnt know why. He's runs where always intelligent, he's only problem was that he was bad technically, he's improved in that aspect now. However, he was always smart imo, we could see it. OX? just cant see it, dont know what he is trying to do on the pitch, whats his role?

Unfortunately Chamberlain is in a similar position to Wilshere where he's stuck in a cycle of injuries, lack of consistent playing time and inconsistent performances, where one thing leads to another. And now Campbell's come in and done very well as well so Chamberlain is further shoved down the pecking order.

He still has time to deliver on his potential but it doesn't look like he'll do it at Arsenal because he's never going to get the run of games he needs. Walcott, who was in a similar position at a similar age, always had Wenger's backing and started most games whereas Wenger doesn't seem as confident in Chamberlain.

As for the British core thing, I don't think anyone was under any illusions that this would be a group of player who form the spine of the team, or at least they shouldn't have been. Gibbs is steady enough as a backup but doesn't seem like will be improve much more, Wilshere and Ox have their injury problems, Jenkinson's found his level at West Ham. Ramsey and Walcott are good enough. Chambers still has a lot of time. Honestly these guys are going as we expected them too.

I will add though that players don't stop improving at a certain age. A lot of players don't improve until their mid-to-late 20s for various reasons.

Think it's very premature to suggest offloading the Ox, permanently or even on a temporary basis, given the position we're in at the moment.

We're in the middle of a tight title race in January with a squad depleted by injury and showing signs of fatigue. How would shipping someone out help our cause at all right now?

He hasn't taken his chances when they've come to him this season but Campbell has; fair enough. It's a miracle that the Ox's confidence isn't completely shot at this point given his injury track record, and this is a very young guy we're talking about here.

Sorry for bumping a really old thread but....

My boy chambo has finally decided to come back from the abyss.
Walcott having such a huge comeback has overshadowed ox's revival and all but, god damn! its nice seeing these guys fight back to get into the starting lineup.

ps: not counting yesterdays game though lol

Our boy Ox still has a long way to go.

^^agreed.

OX’S CENTRAL MIDFIELD PROSPECTS

While Welbeck deservedly dominated the news cycle following his two well-taken goals at Southampton, equally worthy of praise was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The England international has primarily been used out wide during his near six-year spell in north London, but flourished in central midfield against his former club.

He finished the game with a 91 per cent pass completion rate, made seven recoveries and three key passes - including a sensational lofted pass that bisected the Saints defence for Welbeck’s second strike.

Wenger was delighted with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s display, and says he is a serious long-term option as a central midfielder.



“He has so many qualities which make you think he can play on the flanks because he’s powerful, has pace and can dribble, but the position where he really looks like blossoming is in the middle,” the manager said.

“I like his game, I liked his resilience, his tactical discipline and his defensive qualities [at Southampton]. They were absolutely tremendous because he blocked some shots, was always in a good position defensively and that is certainly his future position.

“When you’re young and come into the team, sometimes they push you wide to see what’s going on. After, you come back into the middle but it’s a good learning curve to go out on to the flanks because you are pushed against the line, you have to move well to get the ball and you have to have a short technique because there’s not much space there. After, when you move centrally, that helps you to be more efficient.”

Indeed, many of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s best performances in an Arsenal shirt have come in the middle of the park, particularly the home game against AC Milan in 2012 and the away game at Bayern Munich two years later.

“It’s not a coincidence,” Wenger said. “He could perform in big games there and that means his real qualities are there. I always thought so.

“The problem for him now is about being consistent and to be physically ready and available. He has always had small injuries which have kept him out of the game. It takes your focus away a little bit as well, because you focus on your injury and not on the game.

“For me, his target is to now be there, to be absolutely focused on the team. To be focused on the game, it is important that he doesn’t have any small problems."

Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/1617/pre/first-team/arsenal-v-watford-preview-stats-video#PXylEOWhEkfar5By.99

We've seen him at two ends of the spectrum at CM. Great performances like Milan, his brace against Palace (13/14) and last night. But we've seen him fail and look utterly lost like at SB.

Would like to see him consistently perform on the wing as he's done this season before suggestions that CM is his permanent position get him mixed up.

Not surprised Wenger is talking him up at CM just when we are short in numbers there. All this talk will disappear as soon as a couple of them return.

Wenger thinks Oxlade-Chamberlain's future is midfield? Then I look forward to the new winger he is going to sign and the amount of games Oxlade-Chamberlain is going to play over Cazorla, Xhaka, Coquelin, Elneny, Wilshere and Ramsey