Arsenal: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Becoming The People’s Champ

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has always had an immensely bright future at Arsenal, but only recently has public opinion began to elevate him.

I feel like I start every article on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out the same – talking about how he is just so talented, so gifted and the future of the human race. Or something like that. But seriously, the Arsenal man has everything.

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It just never really came to fruition.

Earlier in the year, when the Ox hinted that he might be open to a move away from Arsenal, there was a fairly dull outcry. There were mumblings that it was an opportunity missed, but that was about it.

Now, everything has changed. You can find plenty of people out there telling Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to ‘just leave.’ They don’t like the Chilean’s attitude and they don’t like Ozil’s seemingly lethargic mannerisms on the pitch.

Aside from them, every single player has at least some supporters calling for an exit.

But Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is starting to rise above that and it’s easy to see why. The young man is not only starting to maximize his talent, but he isn’t even being used that much. And when he is being used, late on in sometimes hopeless matches, he is one of the few players who looks like he gives a damn.

He does everything he can. Which is more than most of his team mates can say.

It shows. Supporters notice. Look at what happened against Crystal Palace. Ox was the first to go over to the away supporters and he was the only to get cheers. Everyone else, even Alexis himself, got boos and jeers.

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This isn’t the first time. Against Bayern Munich, Ox was the only player to go over to the away fans. The only one.

That kind of thing absolutely gets noticed and it sets you head and shoulders above the others that wear the same shirt.

Arsene Wenger has even said that, among all the players he isn’t ready to lose (so… all of them), it is the Ox who would absolutely destroy the team, should he leave.

Somehow, in these strange times, the Ox has become the people’s champ. The hope of a better future (that sounds corny). But when you really think of it, who else? Most are resigned to losing Ozil and Alexis. Who then becomes the most talented and influential player on the club?

It’s not Granit Xhaka or Olivier Giroud. Even I will admit that. It’s not Danny Welbeck or Theo Walcott. It could have been Shkodran Mustafi, but Crystal Palace taught us how dangerous of a game that was. So it’s not him.

It’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

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No one has more power to change the game and no one appreciates the supporters more. So they latch onto him as their champ because he has earned it. And frankly, he is the only one that has. Okay, Alexis has too.