On August 8th when Arsenal completed the £12 million purchase of Southampton winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain I was sceptical.
Another teenager? Another player for the future? We’ve spent £12 million on a 17-year-old who has never played in the Premier League, and only has League One experience? Isn’t the fee too much for yet another young player, when experience is clearly what is needed in the squad? Don’t we already have Theo Walcott to play that role? Really, Arsene? Don’t you know we need a defender?
These were the questions that crossed my mind when the news came that the deal had been become official. Quite frankly, the purchase of Oxlade-Chamberlain seemed more like an Alex Ferguson purchase to me: see a young English player with some promise, and get them at any cost. Not really the Arsene Wenger way. After all, Arsenal’s record transfer is the £16.5 million paid to purchase Andrey Arshavin from Zenit St. Petersburg in January 2009 (this, in a climate where Andy Carroll will cost you £35 million).
It was hard to get too excited about the purchase of Oxlade-Chamberlain at the time it happened, with the Fabregas and Nasri sagas going at full force. His arrival was an afterthought. Would the young player contribute this campaign, or would we be left waiting season after season for him to find consistency. Was this really a good buy for Arsenal?
So far, I’m sold. We should have known that if Wenger was willing to pay £12 million for the young Englishman, it meant Arsene knew something.
Unleashing “The Ox”
“The Ox” as he has been referred to by many, has been nothing short of dominant for the England Under-21s, most recently scoring a hat trick against Iceland in a 3-0 England victory. He was also the catalyst in a 4-1 victory over Israel in September; a match where he had three assists.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has played in three games for Arsenal, and has scored two goals. The only match in which he did not score was his only Premier League appearance, a 28 minute substitute appearance against Manchester United, where he completed all eight of his passes. Sadly, that’s probably the best thing I can say about the match that day.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has scored a goal in every game he has started for Arsenal. He scored the winning goal in the 3-1 Carling Cup victory over Shrewsbury on September 20th. He also scored the Gunners’ opening goal against Greek Champions Olympiacos, on his Champion’s League debut eight days later.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is now the youngest English player to score a goal in the Champion’s League, surpassing Theo Walcott. Not bad for a teenager who played last season in League One (I might add that he was named to the PFA League One Team of the Year in 2010/11).
Confidence of a Veteran, Ambition of a Youngster
Right now, it can be argued that The Ox is playing with more confidence than any other Arsenal player. When he scored against Shrewsbury, he did it from outside the 18-yard box (a rarity for Arsenal). He didn’t need a lot of space. He turned, had just enough room to get the shot off, and he took it. How many times have we been left screaming for Arsenal players to shoot, and not try and pass the ball into the net? Oxlade-Chamberlain, it would appear, won’t be one of them. In a time when confidence is so obviously lacking for Arsenal players, the young Englishman could add some to the lineup.
When he scored his first and third goals during his hat trick on International duty last week, The Ox showed his ability to beat players off the dribble. I can count on one hand how many times this season I have seen an Arsenal player beat a defender with the dribble and create their own space. Every time an Arsenal player attempts to dribble into the box, I must admit, I expect them to be dispossessed (I’m looking right at you, Theo Walcott).
The worst part is, sometimes it looks like they expect the same thing.
Ready to Contribute
With Arsenal continuing to play a 4-3-3 formation, on current form for club and country, I’d select Oxlade-Chamberlain over Arshavin. The Ox has flourished for England’s Under-21s on the right side of the front three in the 4-3-3, and I am confident he will for Arsenal as well.
For that matter, I’m over the Walcott as a winger experiment. It’s time to see what Theo can do up front. He is not a winger. With his speed, and the amount of times he attempts to cross the ball, he is bound to create scoring chances. The problem is he doesn’t do it consistently. Watching Oxlade-Chamberlain play for the England Under-21s, for Southampton and for Arsenal, I believe he is a better overall footballer than Walcott, and will continue to be as he gains experience.
I found it puzzling that Wenger left Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the starting lineup against S*urs last weekend. He wasn’t even included on the bench. I understand bringing him along slowly, but at this point it’s clear a spark is needed. Why not select the young player?
Carrying Arsenal FORWARD
Should we worry about The Ox playing too many games too early? Arsenal have had injury problems as a whole recently, and it can be argued that because young players get a chance to play more games at Arsenal, they can be more injury prone.
Jack Wilshere has played 54 games for club and country combined since the start of the 2010-11 campaign. That’s a lot of minutes logged for a 19-year-old, who now finds himself sidelined for most of this campaign with an Achilles problem. Does one have anything to do with the other? It’s debatable, but a possibility. With that in mind I understand not turning to the young player all the time.
The best thing about young Oxlade-Chamberlain is that like Wilshere, he seems to legitimately want to play for Arsenal (something very refreshing after this past summer). To these players, Arsenal is the club they are destined for, not just a stepping stone to another “big club” and a bigger pay day (I’m looking at you Samir Nasri). We have to remember, to an 18-year-old, Arsenal have not just been good, but great all of their lives. Why should they expect anything less?
With Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere, Arsenal have the English backbone that pundits have cried out that they have needed for so long, to lead them into the future. Was Oxlade-Chamberlain smart money at £12 million? If Liverpool will pay £16 million for Jordan Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain is a steal at £12 million.
After his recent showings for the England Under-21s, Sir Alex Ferguson would probably pay £25 million.
In five years, most teams will wish they could have bought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for £25 million. He has the potential to be that good.
Arsene knows.
Follow Jimmy Gossard on Twitter @JimmyGossard
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