As the dust settles on another demoralising defeat for Arsenal in the week, and the circus surrounding the futures of Wenger, Ozil, and Sanchez rolls on, it’s easy to forget the positive things happening at the club right now, of which Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s development is certainly one.
Wenger has maintained for many years that Chamberlain’s future lies in the central midfield role, and it appears that that future has finally arrived. Santi Cazorla’s long-term injury has left Arsenal lacking creativity from deeper positions this season, and with the Spaniard turning 32 last September now is a good time for Chamberlain to step-up and make the position his own.
The 23-year-old was utilised in the middle during his early years at Southampton before making the move to the Premier League, where Wenger has played him mostly as a winger. It’s likely Wenger took this decision to relieve the pressure on the young Englishman, as mistakes on the wing are less often punished than the middle. As a result he has developed into an effective Premier League player and an England regular. It’s all about taking that next step now.
His pace and dribbling ability, which has been honed on the wing, sets him apart from other centre midfielders in the league. Further to this, his passing is criminally underrated – he has a real ability to zip the ball into attacking players’ feet. These skills allow Chamberlain to up the tempo of games and drive his team forward towards the opposition’s goal. He’s no soft touch either, stocky in build and feisty in nature, the young Englishman is never afraid of putting himself about.
Despite the recent doom and gloom surrounding Arsenal due to poor results, Chamberlain has quietly impressed for the Gunners in the middle. He was deployed there in last month’s home win against Hull, adding a more creative element to the holding two that Arsenal play with.
Then came last week’s game away at Liverpool, where the 23-year-old switched from the wing to the middle at half time, allowing Sanchez to replace Coquelin. This brought about a big improvement in the North-Londoner’s display, which was surely not just down to the impact of Sanchez, but perhaps more to do with the incisive, forward-thinking Chamberlain buzzing around the middle of the park.
He even had a cracker of a first half against German champions Bayern Munich earlier this week, which allowed Arsenal to have a real go at the Bavarians before Laurent Koscielny’s red card.
You can see that Chamberlain is starting to make the role his own; this could be a key factor as Arsenal push for Champions League qualification and FA cup glory in the closing weeks of the campaign. So despite rumours this week linking Chamberlain with a move away from the Emirates at the end of this season his play in the remainder of the cmapaign could actually seal his future at the club.