Tag Archives: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

What has happened to Arsenal’s British core?

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In December 2012, Arsene Wenger thought he had cracked it. That he had found his answer to Fergie’s Class of 92. Or the Arsenal of the late 80s / 90s. The Frenchman thought he had found and developed the future of Arsenal, the future of England.

They were known as ‘the British core’.

Five young British players. All signing long-term deals on the same day. Standing behind them a smiling Arsene Wenger. The quintent of talent he hoped would define the club’s future.

The future looked bright.

Five years and three FA Cups later the investment has not been the unilateral success Wenger had banked on.

So what has happened to Arsenal’s British core?

Aaron Ramsey

Two FA Cup final winning goals will forever give Aaron Ramsey his place in Arsenal history.

The Welshman is the only one of the five who can even be determined a relative success. But into his 10th season at the club, Ramsey has not delivered on his youthful promise on a consistent basis.

The sickening broken leg injury suffered at Stoke in 2010 delayed his progress. After joining as a pacey teenage winger from Cardiff, Ramsey developed into more of a central attacking midfielder.

In 2013-14 he was named the club’s Player of the Year. A return of 16 goals in 34 appearances hinted at a breakthrough year, and the unlocking of his vast potential.

It is fair to say, though, that in club colours he has not kicked on, despite being a key performer for an overachieving Wales side at Euro 2016.

Constant injury setbacks have disrupted his progress, so too the lack of a defined role at club level. With Wales he is the link between midfield and attack, at Arsenal he is just another given licence to roam with little responsibility.

Jack Wilshere

Sitting front and centre of the picture, there is no mistake that Jack Wilshere was the central pivot of the British core.

The great hope of both club and country, the young midfielder was fighting fit once again after an injury-ravaged 2011-12 season.

But ever since that first major injury, Wilshere has not been the same player who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Xavi and Andres Iniesta at the Nou Camp in the Champions League.

Injury has defined him. His loan spell at Bournemouth last year was only the second time in his career he had featured in more than 25 Premier League games.

In the three seasons prior to his temporary move to the Vitality Stadium, he had made just 19 league appearances.

The 25-year-old does not currently fit into Wenger’s first-team plans, and was recently sent off in an appearance for the Under 23s.

An England recall still seems a distant prospect, so too the possibility of a new contract to extend his stay with the Gunners beyond the end of this season.

Kieran Gibbs

The loss of Gael Clichy to Manchester City in 2011 was viewed as little more than a minor setback by Wenger.

In Kieran Gibbs the Arsenal boss felt he had a ready-made replacement to become the new first-choice.

His initial judgement proved astute. Gibbs provided the energy and pace demanded by the position.

Injuries — a constant theme here — prevented Gibbs from nailing down the spot. The signing of Nacho Monreal in January 2013 eventually relegated the England international to second-choice.

The 27-year-old has been little more than a bit-part player in recent seasons and could leave before the end of the window this week.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The capture of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the summer of 2011 was seen a huge coup for Arsenal.

Wenger lavished £12m on an 18-year-old with enormous potential, a more muscular proposition than the last teenager they had acquired from Southampton — Theo Walcott.

The early promise of his debut season earned him an England call-up at Euro 2012 and hinted at a bright future. He was direct and dynamic with the ball, with searing pace to boot.

But, as ever, injuries have prevented Oxlade-Chamberlain from delivering on that potential thus far.

A return of only nine goals in 132 Premier League appearances is way down on expectations, but at 24 he is still well primed to develop further.

That he sees that next step up as away from Arsenal is damning for Wenger and his inability to extract the potential of his British core.

Carl Jenkinson

Plucked from the Charlton academy in the summer of 2011, many scratched their head when he signed. But he was young, English and Arsenal.

After just 62 largely fairly average appearances for the first-team, Jenkinson has just embarked on his third loan spell away from the club.

He did impress a few years ago when on loan at West Ham, which encouraged the Hammers to make a £10m, which ultimately fell through.

The 25-year-old’s career has nose-dived since the early promise and looks set to leave with little fanfare with the club struggling to find a buyer.

Keenos

 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain & Shkodran Mustafi futures

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain really all that?

In his time at Arsenal, he has barely put 6 games together, let alone 6 good games together.

He wants to leave because he wants to play central midfield, but would he get into the middle of the park for any top 6 side? No.

At Chelsea, he would be first choice right wing back, and provide cover for Hazard, Willian and Pedro. Pretty much the same as what he is at Arsenal. He is a player who thinks he is better than what he is. It would not surprise me if he is at Crystal Palace of West Ham within 3 years.

It is incredible to think that in the 6 and a bit years he has been at Arsenal, he has managed just one goal more than Laurent Koscielny. In fact, the list of top 10 goal scorers for the period that the Ox has been at Arsenal makes depressing reading:

Taking into account that of those above him, only Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey have played every season, it perhaps shows how little influence he has on games.

Shkodran Mustafi

I wrote the below back April:

I questioned Shkodran Mustafi’s ability back in December. At the time he had no lost a single game at Arsenal which he had played in. I was mocked in the comments o nthe blog, on Twitter and Facebook. How could I be criticising a player who had yet to lose in an Arsenal shirt?

Well at the time I looked beyond the results of the team and was looking at the performances of the defence.

At the time, Arsenal had not kept a clean sheet for 10 games, with just 4 all season – 3 of which had Mustafi in defence, and the Mustafi / Koscielny partnership was conceding at a rate of a goal a game.

I ended the blog with;

Arsenal defensive frailties have become worse this season. Mustafi has solved one problem but created another.

4 months on and he was part of a centreback partnership against Crystal Palace that failed to make a single tackle. Two crude tackles in the 1st half meant he probably should have seen red. He was lucky to stay on the pitch.

Mustafi has played 17 games in 2017, Arsenal have conceded 31 goals. We have conceded more 3 or more goals on 7 occasions this calendar year. We have kept just 6 clean sheets. 3 of which have been in the FA Cup.

It is not just Mustafi’s fault. The entire defence from Bellerin across to Monreal has been shocking. But Mustafi has shown as huge technical issues which worry.

He tends to chase the ball. He is a poor judge of a high ball. His headers rarely reach a team mate. He dives in to tackles. He is beaten too easily.

I still think he will turn out to be a good player at Arsenal, but at £35,000,000 you would expect better performances than the Sunday League level ones he is putting in at the moment.

I have no issue getting read of substandard players like Mustafi and Oxlade-Chamberlain. My big issue is that we will not replace them

Keenos

Time for Arsenal to cash in on Average Oxlade-Chamberlain

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If Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wants out, I will happily open the door the door and see him on his way. I will even get him a black cab to take him to Chelsea, although he can pay for it himself.

You see, Ox is one of these players who has always thought he was better than what he is.

Always on Instagram and Twitter, making jokes with fellow under achievers Carl Jenkinson and Calum Chambers. He thinks he is a celebrity, what with his girlfriend from Little Mix and going to music award shows and hanging out the back of VIP tents.

His wannabe celebrity status comes through in the way he plays. Always trying to do the difficult things. Trying to be Superman. He wishes he was Alexis Sanchez, but he is not.

I for one will not miss him beating 3 men, only to run the ball out of play, or getting into a great position, only to stick his cross out for a throw in from the other side of the pitch.

He also suffers from the English disease bought to the game by David Beckham, and reinforced by Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. He always wants to play that Hollywood, pinged cross field ball with loads of backspin that drops out of the sky and lands at the foot of his opposing winger. But he is not Becks. He can not play this. And it usually ends up hoofed out of play.

Then there is his shooting. How often have we been in a good position, the ball lands to Ox, and he takes a long run up, and sticks one into the stands?

Some will say at least he has a go from distance and this would be the right thought process, if he actually got a few of them to hit the back of the net. He has scored just 9 league goals in his time at Arsenal. 9 goals in 6 years in the Premier League.

Against Stoke last weekend was the perfect example of what I am getting at.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had 3 shots in that game. All from outside the area. None forced the keeper into a save. What is the point?

His goal scoring record is piss poor, taking into account people go on so much about his great technique. In al competitions, he has scored 20 goals for Arsenal. That is 20 goals in 196 games. In comparison, Theo Walcott scored 19 goals last season.

A 1 in 10 record is just very poor for a winger. That is probably why he has found himself at right wing back.

In his time at Arsenal, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has barely played 6 games in a row, due to fitness issues, let alone put half a dozen good games together.

At the back end of last season, and beginning of this, he has improved, playing at right wing back. He looks suited to the position. But it has clearly bashed his ego.

He sees himself as an Alexis Sanchez, being the dribbling creator, getting all the plaudits. He believes he should be playing central midfield, or attacking midfield. But he is simply not good enough in either of these position.

So he wants to leave us, not about money, but about progressing his career. I would usually think fair enough but it just highlights his delusion.

He thinks he will go to Chelsea and be a regular starter. He will. At right wing back. If he wants to play further central, he will soon find himself on the bench, behind proper decent players like Kante and Hazard.

At Liverpool, he would be taking a step down. OK, they finished above us last season by a single point, but the Scousers have won 1 League Cup in 10 years. He certainly will not be going there to win things.

And when you look at the Liverpool side, is he any better than Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana or Mo Salah? Clearly not. Further back, I struggle to see how he would get in ahead of Georginio Wijnaldum or Emre Can.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is like the employee who thinks he is brilliant, gets hot air blown up them by a recruitment consultant, so leaves. He go’s elsewhere thinking he is the dogs bollocks, but soon finds out that he is not. That he is distinctly average. That is lack of performance is down to him, not his company.

Ox, if you want to go to further your career, good luck. But you Arsenal will probably have been your peak.

Keenos