Tag Archives: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal need to play hardball over defenders future

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He got a lot of (unfair) criticism at Crystal Palace, which has maybe led him to fall out of love with the club a bit, and he has certainly had his head turned by Barcelona. But Arsenal need to do everything they can to keep Hector Bellerin at the club.

Whilst a reported offer of £45m is – too some – too big to turn down, if Arsenal want to win the league next year, they need to keep their key players at the club. Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Hector Bellerin, etc.

The offer of £45m is massive, and 5 years ago we would have had to have accepted it. But Arsenal is a different place now. A club that no longer needs to sell to buy. A club that is offering £100m for an 18 year old with hardly any experience.

We reportedly have £150m to spend on transfer this summer. We do not need to inflate that amount by cashing in on Hector Bellerin. It is more important that we keep the squad strong, and together.

Some will point to the fact that Bellerin lost his place in the starting XI at the back end of last season. That he is now expendable. That £45m for what is now a squad player rather than a first teamer is something Arsenal should seriously consider. These people are incorrect.

Whilst Bellerin might have fallen down the pecking order in the later end of the season, he is a very important member of the squad.

When we play 3 at the back, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is first choice at right wing back. But the Ox has his own problems. He is injury prone. Unable to put a consistent run of games together.

Having moved to 3 at the back, the Ox played 5 of the first 6 games in the new formation. He then picked up an injury against Southampton which ruled him out of the next 3 games. He is fragile and his work load needs to be managed.

Therefore you need a top quality back up who can be rotated in to manage the Ox’s work load. Bellerin is that man.

Up the road at Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino has shown a tendency to rotate his wing backs on almost a game by game basis. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose one week, Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies the next.

Whilst I do not think you need to change the wing backs every game, and I certainly will not be looking at a manager who has won nothing for tips, it is true that your wing backs get through a lot of work every game, and with Arsenal set to play around 50 games next season, we need to keep the squad rotated and fresh.

Oxlade-Chamberlain can not play 50 games a season. His back up needs to be of equal quality. And we have not yet even discussed the Ox’s contract situation. With one year set to run, were he to refuse to sign, it would potentially leave Arsenal without a quality right wing back. Losing Bellerin would also give even more power to the Ox who could point to the fact he will be the only decent right wing back at the club next season, and pretty much name his price.

You then have the scenario if Arsenal return to 4 at the back. With Mathieu Debuchy and Carl Jenkinson set to leave this summer, allowing Bellerin to also leave would put Arsenal in a situation where we do not have a single right back at the club – Oxlade-Chamberlain is not good enough defensively to play right back.

The other option in the squad would be Calum Chambers.

Chambers would provide good cover for a first choice full back, but I am sure we all agree that he is not at the standard required to be first choice full back. His future is at centre back, with the ability to cover a full back if needed.

If Arsenal let Bellerin go, we would then need to buy a new right back – who would probably then cost £45m and not be as good.

Bellerin signed a new 6-and-a-half year deal back in November. This will keep him with the club until 2023. Arsenal are in no rush to sell. Keep hold of Bellerin, prove to him that he will get enough game time in the new formation. Regain Champions League football next year. Get Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a new long term deal.

And in 2018 if Bellerin still wants to leave, F**k him off and he will still be worth £45m.

Keenos

The future of Wenger, Sanchez and The Ox

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In the second leg of a series of 2 blogs that I am going to call random stuff I am predicting because I am bored of the international break and football in general we look at the future of 3 men at Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger

We have all known it for months. But buried our head in the sand hoping it was not true. Arsene Wenger is going to sign a new contract at Arsenal.

He probably agreed the deal back in January, and was just waiting for the right time for the news to be announced. But with our bad form, there has simply not been a right time.

The hopeful in me would like to think that Arsenal have actually spent the last 2 months since the contract was signed exploring their options. Approaching various other managers on the quiet, whilst also attempting to negotiate a way out of the contract agreed with Wenger. Maybe we a well p[aid move upstairs.

The realist in me knows this has not happened. The board are happy with Wenger. Wenger thinks he is doing a great job. And the new contract will be announced after our season tickets have been renewed.

Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez has never stayed more than 3 years at a single club. He has never signed a second contract at any club he has been at. After 3 years, he packs his bags and moves on.

He is. Whether his destination by Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid or PSG, I predict he will not be at Arsenal next season.

With just a single year left on his contract, Arsenal are not in a great position to negotiate. The main hope is that all 4 of the above get into a bidding war, pushing the price up. But ultimately the ball is in Sanchez’s court, and a bit like Robin van Persie a few years back, he will be able to force a move to the club he wants to join, not the club Arsenal want to sell him too.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Recently I have felt a bit sorry for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He has been thrown to the wolves a few times in recent weeks, facing the media after a defeat because no one else has the testicles to do so (when was the last time Laurent Koscielny faced the media?)

He has also been the sole man coming across to the fans.

He is one of the few players who seems to feel the pain of defeat that the away support do. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He has shown captains material in recent weeks.

But I predict if he does become a captain, it will be for another club.

He has never really settled at Arsenal, in and out of the team due to injury, form and non-selection. Played in many positions. Many times out of position.

But he is talented. With the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea in desperate need of home grown talent, and with one year left on his contract, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be playing in blue next season. The only question will be; Dark blue or light blue?

Keenos

Arsenal set to SELL up to 11 senior players (and none are Ozil or Sanchez)

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In recent weeks, the big transfer news at Arsenal has been about the contract situations of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.

It has been well written by many that both have 18 months left on their contract and are currently stalling on negotiations. Some say they are waiting on Arsene Wenger to declare his future, or for it to be announced who his replacement might be, others say they are driven by money, with rumours of a $400,000 offer on the table from China – I always laugh that the offer is ‘from China’ without mentioning a particular club.

Some say that want to ensure they are playing for a competitive club, and will wait to see if we do challenge (and win) the title, whilst Ian Wright thinks they will both sign, but will do in the summer where they will be worth even more if they take Arsenal to the title.

The future of both is concerning for all Arsenal fans, but there are another 11 senior players who’s future at the club might not be bright. And entire starting XI could leave Arsenal this summer.

David Ospina has been linked away from Arsenal ever since Petr Cech joined. Currently the clubs Champions League keeper, he is also likely to play in the FA Cup in the New Year. The Colombian will be 29 next season, entering the peak for a goal keeper. Would he really want to spend his best years sitting on Arsenal’s bench?

The writing is also on the wall for Carl Jenkinson. The boyhood Arsenal fan looks like a deer in headlights every time he puts on an Arsenal shirt. He is good enough to be 2nd choice right back behind Hector Bellerin, but in his own head, Arsenal are too big for him. His demise from one of West Ham’s best players a few years ago has been incredible.

When Frenchman Mathieu Debuchy started against Bournemouth, some were surprised he was still at the club. His contract does not expire until 2019, but with injuries now piling up, and reports of a poor attitude at times, if he is not sold next summer, he will surely be sent out on loan.

Per Mertesacker. The big German. The captain. His contract runs out at the end of the year and there has been no talk about him getting a new one. With the form of Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny, and the development of Rob Holding, Arsenal no longer require his services. He will be able to get himself a nice big contract back in Germany.

After a season of poor form, Arsenal will surely sign a stronger left back than either Nacho Monreal or Kieran Gibbs. With Gibbs being younger and English, and Monreal’s future potentially tied to that of best mate Santi Cazorla (more later), it is the Spaniard who will make way.

Another on borrowed time is Calum Chambers. After a brilliant start to his Arsenal career where he looked like an assured, ball playing centre back, he has gone backwards. Part of this is due to him being played in multiple positions – a bit like Phil Jones at Man U – and part of it due to not getting enough game time. He has made 10 appearances for Middlesborough this season but has been outshone by fellow youngster Ben Gibson. With Rob Holding also at the club, Arsenal will struggle to give to young centre backs enough time to develop. He might be saved by the fact Debuchy & Jenkinson are likely to go, meaning Arsenal need a back up right back.

Santi Cazorla has already played his last game for Arsenal Football Club in my opinion. Now 32, with 18 months of poor injuries behind (and head) of him, his contract runs out at the end of this season. I can not see Arsenal offering him any more than a new 1 year deal. Something that Cazorla will surely not accept. He has spoken previously about finishing his career at Spain, and that time has come. And he will take Nacho Monreal with him.

Another who’s Arsenal career is almost certainly over his Jack Wilshere. Playing once a week for Bournemouth does not mean he is good enough to play twice a week for Arsenal. He clearly enjoys the sea air, a lower intensity of life, and time away from his trouble making friends. Bournemouth are able to manage his work load in a way that a big club like Arsenal are unable to facilitate. Arsenal need fit players playing twice a week. Wilshere does not fit the bill.

Joel Campbell is out on loan at Sporting. With the development of Alex Iwobi, nothing will change for Campbell next year. He will still be surplus to requirements, and will either be loaned once more, or sold.

Homegrown striker Chuba Akpom is at a cross roads in his career. He has not progressed from talented youngster to senior superstar. 4 average loan deals, and Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Lucas Perez ahead of him, there will be no chance for him to break through in the future.

Lastly we come to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Whilst everyone is going on about Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s contract coming to an end in 2018, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s also does. Another player at a cross roads in his career, he has never really secured a place in Arsenal’s starting XI. He is getting a run now, a chance to prove himself, but if he fails to impose himself on games consistently, he might have to look elsewhere next summer, take a step down to get regular football.

 

Arsenal could end up off loading an entire XI. I wonder how this lot would get on in the Premier League:

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Keenos