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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Will Prove a Crucial Asset Next Season

By Rohan Subramanian

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In reflecting upon Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s involvement in the past Arsenal season, my mind instinctively jumps to his giveaway that ultimately led to Yannick Ferreira Carrasco’s decisive goal in the 3-1 loss to Monaco at the Emirates. Not the fondest of memories, but my immediate association of The Ox with this blunder is somewhat indicative of the type of season he’s had.

Sure, that giveaway was preceded by a beautiful curler into the top corner. And we can’t forget the skillful run to set up Monreal at Old Trafford, nor his powerful sprint and Henry-esque finish to extend Arsenal’s lead to 3-0 against Anderlecht. 

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Nonetheless, the bottom line is that this past season was not one that a player of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s caliber will remember for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, in the latter half of the season, the English youngster didn’t see nearly enough playing time, appearing in just nine games since the New Year. This was a combination of fairly minor injury problems and Ramsey’s being pushed out to the right-hand side.

Looking ahead to the new season, one where Wenger’s men are being backed for a title challenge, everyone must play a role in the squad. As we learned from experience during the second half of the season, a relatively injury-free period by Arsenal standards, depth is crucial to the functionality of the team. It is no coincidence that the club’s best form occurred during a time when very few little-known youngsters were listed as substitutes due to injury-related squad depletion (see Ainsley Maitland-Niles or Stefan O’Connor).

The best example of this was in the back line: from January to May, each of the positions had a starting player and a readily available backup just in case. With this in mind, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s importance to the club seems more inflated.

Evidently, Wenger likes to deploy him on the right wing, where he is able to provide width in attack. But beyond that he can serve on the other wing as well, in addition to through the middle in either a box-to-box role or a holding role (more of a stretch, but it’s been done). In fact, The Ox has previously shone in the center of the pitch, and if not for a surplus of box-to-box options in Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, to name a few, I would certainly have liked to see more of him down the middle.

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The most likely scenario is that we will see him as a fourth- or fifth-string central player, with his talents being most prominently utilized on the wing.

In addition to his versatility in different positions, the fact that he will need to win his spot creates a healthy challenge that Oxlade-Chamberlain needs to raise the level of his game. It appears that Theo Walcott has a slight edge over him in Wenger’s right flank pecking order, which could serve as extra motivation for The Ox to cement himself into the starting XI.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has always struck me as a better player, due to his power and multi-dimensional nature, but Walcott is likely seen as a more useful player from a pragmatic, goal-getting, counter-attacking standpoint. With the two virtually neck-and-neck, it should be an interesting battle between the two for bragging rights as Arsenal’s best pacy Englishman. The competition cold turn out anticlimactically, however, with Walcott getting played at striker, leaving the right wing to The Ox.

Another element to consider is rest. While most players are spending the summer racking up minutes for their country, Oxlade-Chamberlain is not playing many matches, as made clear by his Facebook page. This could work in his favor (the offseason, not the awesome pool) to give him time to recover from the little injuries he faced during the past season. In addition, he will have a long period to prepare himself mentally and physically for a potentially important role in the upcoming campaign.

Age is another thing working in The Ox’s favor. He will turn the ripe age of 22 in August, and in my opinion he’s primed for a breakout season. Having signed as a 17-year-old from Southampton with the reputation of being a hot prospect, we have to say that he hasn’t fully lived up to the sky-high expectations.

Granted, he has shown tremendous upside on a technical and physical level (never forget that performance at the Allianz), but at an age when youngsters often break out and prove themselves, Oxlade-Chamberlain needs to be proving it on a consistent basis. He certainly has the skills to do so; given a run of games, I think that this will be the season that he proves himself as one of the best wingers in the Premier League.

That being said, a streak of consecutive appearances will be made even more difficult if Wenger decides to sign an attacking player, a likely scenario. Despite Vidal rumors being dispelled, new ones have surfaced about Lacazette, Aubameyang, and Vargas, and evidently, one of these signings would indirectly cut Oxlade-Chamberlain’s playing time.

I believe that we will see The Ox’s best season yet. I can envision him winning his place in the starting lineup on the wing, in addition to serving as cover in the midfield. If Arsenal put together a stronger title challenge this year, expect to see Oxlade-Chamberlain playing a key role.

Next: Arsenal Transfer Rumor Round Up July 2nd?

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