Arsenal: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Has One More Obstacle

Arsenal saw a lot of the same frustrations against Hull City and a few of the same bright spots. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, in particular, has just one more test.

I am finding it hard to stay positive about the Hull City result and it makes me feel kind of bad. Arsenal pulled out the three points they needed and actually gained ground on Chelsea, who drew at Turfmoor, but the performance was not convincing.

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And with Bayern Munich coming up midweek, we are going to see what state this team is really in. Which is a bit troublesome.

However, for two matches in a row, if there was one massive positive to take away from two iffy performances, it was the work of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The young Englishman was yet again deployed into the central midfield by default and what we saw looked a lot like Santi Cazorla.

The Ox was able to wriggle out of tight situation, burst into the opposition’s half, spray the ball around the field and yes, even play defense.

His athleticism and strength can be put on full usefulness in this central role and it’s wonderful that he has finally been given his chance to prove himself in consecutive matches. He did everything we could have wanted.

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So much so, that there is really only one more obstacle for the Ox to overcome, and it’s not just any obstacle. He has to do what Joel Campbell, Danny Welbeck and Lucas Perez have failed to do in the past or are currently failing to do – he has to work his way into Wenger’s good graces.

Last year is the best example I can give of this, with Joel Campbell clearly being the best option out wide, yet he was continually shunned for less effective wingers.

The Ox is going to be welcoming back some new competition soon. Granit Xhaka is coming back. Ramsey will be back before the end of the year and Cazorla will be back in time. He has proven that he deserves as much a look as any of these guys, but has he managed to convince Arsene Wenger that he’s better than the “natural” central options like Elneny, Ramsey and Xhaka/Coquelin?

I’m not so sure. The sample size is still so small and I worry that without an even longer stint at the position, he will still be rotated out when healthy midfielders return.

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Bayern will be a big tell. Wenger will give away a lot with his midfield selection for this crucial fixture.