Arsenal: Ross Barkley not fit to tie Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s shoes

Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Ross Barkley if they cannot secure Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to a long-term deal. The Evertonian, though, while a talented player, is not even fit to lace Chamberlain’s boots.

The process of having your squad reduced, the recruitment of improvement, and then the subsequent replacements of those lost, is the crux of the transfer window. It is an aspect of football management that is essential to success; being able to wheel and deal, to sell and to buy, to continually hone and fine-tune your squad for the better is an extremely difficult, and yet important, skill for any manager to master.

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It is crucial that the incoming player is at least equal to the production or the potential of the outgoing player. That is the fault-line that no manager can, in the ruthless, modern footballing world, afford to dip below.

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As Arsene Wenger entered the summer transfer window, it was clear that this line would be difficult to reach and overcome. With several significant players entering the final year of their contracts, including Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, as well as the lack of Champions League football for the first time in his career, it was feasible to see how Wenger would struggle to keep hold of the more established, entrenched components of his squad.

One of those parts was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Arsenal starlet surged into a key first-team role towards the back end of last season in a central midfield role, before continuing to impress at left and right wing-back to close the year. However, frustrations with a lack of game time in his preferred position of central midfield, and a feeling that he is undervalued thanks to the seeming hesitancy to come forward with a contract offer, have alienated Chamberlain.

There are growing reports that Chamberlain could leave the Emirates this summer, with Liverpool and Chelsea looming, mercilessly, in the background. If that were to happen, then The Daily Mail report that Wenger would turn to another young, talented, English Premier League star entering the final year of his contract.

Ross Barkley, per Ronald Koeman, will leave Everton this summer. Where he goes, though, is another question altogether, with several clubs reportedly interested in his services, even though a rather hefty £50 million asking price deters them a little.

For Arsenal, though, replacing Chamberlain with Barkley would be a major step down. Chamberlain is superior technically, especially when driving forwards with the ball at his feet, his distribution and end product are more consistent, and he is much more intelligent player, with a far greater understanding of the game, better decision making, something that is a key detriment to Barkley’s game, and more creativity in the final third.

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Barkley is a talented player. He will, most likely, proceed to have a solid and fairly successful Premier League career. But he lacks the exuberant potential of Chamberlain. Chamberlain has the talent to be a genuine world-class star. Barkley does not even come close.