Arsenal: Selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the epitome of stupid

Arsenal may be inevitably pushing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain towards the exit, but to sell him would be arguably the stupidest thing ever.

Arsenal has held onto and kept faith in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the past half decade, using him when they could, repairing him when he was hurt. They invested so much time and effort into him with the belief that he would eventually pan out and be this undisputed star prospect that everyone said he would become.

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He’s finally becoming that. This year he broke out in a big way at a brand new position, showing intriguing facets that make him finally look on track to fulfill his destiny.

And yet, with his contract running out in just one short year, Arsenal and the Ox have been unable to land a deal, so much so that it’s gotten to the point where reports indicate that Oxlade-Chamberlain is frustrated and pushing for an exit.

Now they are saying that he could cost as little as £25m.

Let me tell you something, to lose someone like Oxlade-Chamberlain for that small amount of money is the epitome of stupid, stupid business. He is entering his prime, he is vital at his role, Hector Bellerin will probably be leaving soon and in terms of pure talent, you won’t find many players with more than the Ox.

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There was talk that he wanted assurances from the club in terms of playing time, and that’s perfectly reasonable. Why wouldn’t he? It would also be completely reasonable for the club to grand him those assurances because it wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. He is the superior wing back, which is essentially a central midfield role, more or less, and if he keeps doing what he did last year, he won’t have to worry about Bellerin.

There are just a handful of guys on on the Gunners roster that are near impossible to replace completely. Alexis Sanchez is one and I’d wager that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the other. You just don’t find such a magnificent combination of size, speed and instinct everywhere. And when you do, you certainly don’t sell him for that cheap.

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Nothing has happened yet. And transfer talk is cheap. But the fact that he only has a year left on his deal is nothing to shirk at. Something has to be done and the longer the silence lasts, the more that “something” starts to look like an exit.