Arsenal readying a whopping contract offer for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

While the headlines have been dominated by the contractual situations of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, there are a host of other Arsenal players whose future at the Emirates Stadium is uncertain at the moment.

Attacker Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of the players who will be entering the final year of his contract at Arsenal next summer and there have been talks that the England international could leave North London, with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City said to be interested.

Arsenal are desperate to keep hold of Oxlade-Chamberlain though and according to reports from the Daily Mail, claims have been made that the Gunners have begun talks over a new lucrative £100,000-per-week five year deal for the 23-year-old in order to keep him put at the Emirates.

Oxlade-Chamberlain to be fit for Leicester City clash

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has easily been one of the best performers for Arsenal over the past few weeks and there was understandably a lot of concern among the Gunners’ faithful after he was seen leaving Wembley on crutches following the fine 2-1 FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City.

To allay fears though, manager Arsene Wenger has played down talks that Oxlade-Chamberlain has suffered a serious injury and has claimed that the in-form attacker will be available for the clash against Leicester City on Wednesday night.

“He’s done very well at wing-back,” said Arsene Wenger
“In the future, on long term, he will play in central midfield. What he is doing at the moment will help him to be a successful central midfielder as well. But at the moment I feel that this wing-back role has suited him well.

“I think Alex is one of the players who has developed very well mentally. He is more positive, more confident, more mature. He was sometimes a bit negative with his own performances. And I think on that front he is much better now.”

Bellerin, Welbeck and Gibbs return to Arsenal starting lineup

Arsenal square off against Leicester City on Wednesday night and victory will be of paramount importance to the Gunners’ hopes of finishing in the top four this season.

Given the success in recent matches, manager Arsene Wenger is set to deploy a 3-4-3 system for the clash but it does look like he will be forced into personnel changes.

Hector Bellerin could be brought back into the side at wing-back, moving Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin to midfield instead of Aaron Ramsey while the veteran Nacho Monreal could be replaced by Kieran Gibbs after the energy sapping 120 minutes against Manchester City last weekend.

The rest of the squad could remain the same with Petr Cech starting in goal, the trio of Laurent Koscielny, Rob Holding and Gabriel deployed at centre-back while the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil continuing in midfield. That said, Danny Welbeck could come in for Olivier Giroud with Alexis Sanchez moving into the attacking role.