Arsenal: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Nearing Threshold

Arsenal were embarrassingly squashed yet again by Bayern Munich, but they might have done us a favor and pushed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain towards the threshold.

Arsenal’s horrid displays against Bayern Munich can now be left in the rear view mirror. But there is one thing we want to take with us, and that is the Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that we saw in the home leg.

Suiting up in the center of the midfield, as a pilgrim in the brand new midfield three, the Ox was unbelievable. Even when the bubble had popped and the game was over, he was still the driving force behind absolutely everything.

So much so that, all things considered, we might end up having Bayern Munich to thank for pushing Ox to the threshold. And the threshold I am speaking of is consistency.

This was huge for the Ox. And I think the way it played out, losing 5-1 and leaving him completely robbed of every last bit of energy, makes it even better.

The problem with the Ox has always been confidence. How can we get him to believe in his abilities enough to make his brilliant blips more of a consistent thing?

Well, games like this will certainly help. Games where he gives his all, is far and away the best man on the pitch, and the team still falls. He had to feel superior to all of his team mates and to a lot of Bayern Munich’s guys as well. He had to see what sort of power he had and how much he dictated what happened.

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We have seen the Ox play well before. We have seen him be fantastic and be a functioning member of the offense. So it’s not like his performance against Bayern Munich is unheard of.

But what is unheard of is the Ox being the driving force. He has often been in the same boat as Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott – he can look good when the offense around him is clicking. But if you ask for him to be the guy, he falters.

Not this time around. The Ox was the centerpiece for the first time and it should lay a fantastic foundation moving forward.

And not only was the Ox fantastic, but he never lost his fight. Body language and deflation is another worry with him, but this time out, he was fighting until the end. There is a reason Bayern were so cordial to him. They saw what he did.

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Extending this form from the Ox starts with giving him consistent runs in the middle of the formation. It’s not usually that simple, but this time it is.

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