Arsenal: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain must be top priority

Arsenal’s England native Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain only has a year left on his contract. He is persistently one of the squad’s top players. We must resign him.

We all know how great Arsenal played against Chelsea. Both collectively as a team and separately as individuals. One man in particular, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, caught my eye yet again.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has only one year left on his contract and has been linked to moves to Everton and heavily to Liverpool. He is one of the most versatile players on the squad. Resigning him is a must and let’s look at why:

First off, Chambo is as versatile a player as it gets. We’ve seen him in the past spend most of his Arsenal playing time at the wing position. Whether it was right wing or left wing, he proved to be a capable player on both sides.

We’ve also seen him play as a central midfielder. In this role, Oxlade-Chamberlain normally becomes a box-to-box midfielder. We know he has speed and physicality (skills needed to be a winger), but he is also an underrated passer. He has the ability to pick out tremendous passes. Whether he has to curve or lob a pass, he has the necessary skills to do so. His movement is substantial in this role, but we haven’t gotten the pleasure to see him more in this role.

Wenger has previously said that Chambo is at his best at central mid, but there are still questions as to why we rarely see him there. We know he can play there, but Wenger may see something we don’t.

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Or perhaps he isn’t needed there. As previously said, he can play both winger and central mid, but he can do more. Shocking right? Well, I think not. In the newly implemented 3-4-3 system that has been so successful, we have seen Wenger move Oxlade-Chamberlain to a right wing back position. There were questions at first. Why play someone as a wingback when he can much more as an attacker or center mid player?

Well Chambo answered that question. His speed and physicality allows him to be a perfect wing back. He can roam freely on the wing, creating chances by getting crosses in or finding a shot. Defensively, he has been efficient but he also has the three centerbacks behind him incase he messes up.

So now we know Chambo can play as a winger, center mid, and a right wing back. Can he be any more versatile? Yes, he can. In the FA Cup final, Gibbs was dealing with an injury and with the lack of available center backs, Monreal had to revert as one. With Hector Bellerin healthy and no real left wing back, who took that position? Yes, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain! And he looked comfortable as well. Prior experience as a winger on both sides must’ve been really helpful for him.

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If Chambo does leave, he can be a great addition to that team because he provides so much for a team. However, I want him to remain in the beloved red and white jersey that has really made him into what he is today. #ResignChambo

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