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Arsenal: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s Tragedy Continues
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal have bore witness to a flurry of negative happenings this year. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s career stall has to be one. It’s only getting worse.
It only ever gets worse for some Arsenal guys. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one such case. This was supposed to be his year, but injuries, conspicuous removals from the squad and inconsistencies have made this year another one to forget. To make matters even worse, he has now been ruled out of Euro 2016.
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This news comes as a bit of a shock. I was not even aware that the Ox had picked up a new injury, but apparently it happened Monday. After being set to return to the club, the Ox suffered a fresh new injury and will now be out until July.
Something just isn’t right. Why does this kind of thing only happen to Arsenal? Aside from Daniel Sturridge at Liverpool, no other team has chronic injuries like Arsenal does, where the same guys are getting the same injuries over and over. If it’s not the Ox, it’s Jack Wilshere. These are supremely talented guys that just need some sort of consistency and they are being denied it by the forces of nature.
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Euro 2016 was going to be huge for the Ox. The experience would have been a huge lift on his stalled career. Ever since breaking through at the age of 18, he has shown little signs of improvement and is flirting with becoming Theo Walcott 2.0, where after a decade, he still boasts the same, stale skills.
Some of that comes with being played out of position. Wenger informed the world that the Ox has a future at central midfield, which begs the question of why he has not been used there. He has been primarily used as a winger, but his heavy first touch and giveaways have left Arsenal exposed.
That being said, when used centrally, he does look effective and his strength is put to better use. His heavy first touches evaporate and he looks like a menace on and off the ball.
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If the Ox doesn’t pan out, it won’t make any sense. He has everything, strength, speed, technical ability. It may be a simple explanation though. It’s hard to establish a career when you’re constantly in and out with injuries. Hopefully this is the last and he returns healthy and rejuvenated next year. The last thing we need is another ‘what if’ story.