Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was all set to travel with the England squad to France for Euro 206 but an injury during training ensure he would not be part of the team. Arsene Wenger stated that the injury was an accident and the winger isn’t injury prone, but more than missing out on the summer’s competition, there have been doubts about his future at the club.
The 22-year-old has been part of the Arsenal team for number of years, but that has not resulted in a first team spot for the attacker, something that must be playing in the mind of Arsene Wenger. When asked about the contract situation for the Ox, who has only two more years left on his current deal, Wenger stated that the injury would not play a part in the discussions.
“We invested a lot of time [in him], so we will not give up now,” Wenger said.
But what does “not give up now” mean for the English attacker?
Alex joined Arsenal from Southampton in 2011 and no one really expected him to be part of the first team from day one, after all, even Theo Walcott took time to break into the team. The youngster though made his debut in August 2011 and even scored his first goal for the club in September 2011, not bad for someone who had just moved to the team.
There have been high hopes for the youngster, but he has flattered to deceive everyone. It seems Oxlade-Chamberlain is yet another Theo Walcott, he has a lot of potential but rarely shows his ability on a consistent basis, that has been the problem for both former Southampton players and it seems to follow them every season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is still relatively young in this day and age of football at 22 still has time to develop but his injuries and lack of playing time might be a big problem for Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal youngster only played 33 games in all competitions last season, a far cry from the 45+ that most of the top players end up playing in a full campaign.
Arsenal might want to make up for the amount spent on the Southampton youngster and sell him. The London club did play close to 15 million pounds for the youngster in 2011 and they might actually get a lot more than that seeing that he is an England international and maybe this could shift the decision to sell him.
The Gunners normally don’t give up on their young players and Oxlade-Chamberlain should be given one last season before they do think about letting him go. He does have the potential and maybe a stern talk with Wenger might just give him the energy and zeal to do better and show just how good he is next season.