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Arsenal: No more questions for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal’s attack was a well-oiled machine against Leicester City, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continues to prove that you really can’t ask any more questions of him.
Buried in the contract talks (or lack thereof) between Arsenal and their two superstars Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, is the continuing disappointment of the Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain contract talks (or lack thereof).
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The summer starters with tremendous optimism (stemming from various reports) that Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arsenal were nearing a contract extension, but those talks quickly derailed into reports that he was furious with the offer and the lack of first-team assurances, so he was seeking an out to a direct Premier League rival.
Which, using Alexis as an example, doesn’t seem all that likely.
Still, Oxlade-Chamberlain was run out as a left wing back against Leicester City and, lo and behold, he was an absolute menace out there, ripping apart the Foxes’ defense and causing them some serious problems. And while he added no goals or assists himself, there was plenty to be excited about. He made Hector Bellerin look rigid and stumped, which is no easy feat.
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It made me think that it’s about time we stop asking questions of Oxlade-Chamberlain. The point of first team assurances is that, when a guy feels he has earned the right to guaranteed playing time, he makes sure that his contract says that he will get that time.
From a club perspective. The only drawback to assurances is if you don’t feel the player is ready for the first-team on a regular basis.
Well guess what? Oxlade-Chamberlain is as ready as anyone else out there. Probably more than many of the other guys out there. I am even wondering if Bellerin doesn’t have his own setoff assurances in his contract that are getting in the way of Oxlade-Chamberlain being denied his own. Assuming that is indeed what is happening.
The Ox is a professional now. We waited so long for him to graduate from his prospect stages, as he seemed stuck there for far too long thanks to injuries and – go figure – a lack of first team playing time.
When you see him out there, he is one of the most dangerous players on the pitch and he often makes it look so effortless.
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The club can’t possibly have any questions left unanswered, because he can’t do much more than prove that he is better than their other option – Bellerin – which he is currently doing very effectively. Yet I can’t help but feel like they are digging for new questions to ask in order to not give him the contract that he wants because, for whatever reason, it is inconvenient for them.