Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is a player that many Gunners fans love, but seemingly for the wrong reasons. It is understood that Chamberlain may have more fans at the club based upon his humorous approach and media work, rather than his performances on the pitch. Such have been the state of his performances, it is reported that Arsenal have reportedly put considerations to extend his contract on hold, as they wonder whether his future truly does remain in North London.
The Ox was the second young starlet to join the Gunners from Southampton, following on from Theo Walcott’s big money move when he too was just a young boy. Chamberlain joined Arsenal back in 2011 and in 5 years at the club, Chamberlain has failed to make much progress. The then 17 year old was highly anticipated to be one of England’s brightest young talents and a £12 million transfer to Arsenal seemed to be a good deal for the Gunners. However if Arsenal were looking to sell the Ox now, 5 years later down the line, I would be surprised to see the player go for a higher fee and that’s even considering the fact that he’s got the ‘English price tag’.
Chamberlain just hasn’t cut it at Arsenal and although during each and every season he has shown glimpses of greatness and potential, unfortunately for the midfielder he cannot do the job on a consistent basis and his level of performance drops more often than not. The Ox has sadly turned into a Theo Walcott 2.0 and although I think there is more hope for Oxlade Chamberlain than there is for Walcott at Arsenal, largely based upon age, I am still not surprised to hear that there have supposedly been talks about whether Arsenal should sell the 23 year old.
Arsenal were reportedly open to listening to offers for Chamberlain this summer, both on loan and in permanent deals, however clearly nothing materialised. Despite a seeming lack of interest therefore, the media is now reporting that Arsenal will not be looking to extend the Ox’s contract anytime soon, unless his performances and consistency dramatically improves.
Although Arsenal’s main contractual priorities remain with Alexis and Ozil, both of which have contract expirations at the end of next season, Chamberlain too last signed a contract with Arsenal back in 2012, meaning his contract must also be close to running out.
With no offer currently on the table, Arsenal must now consider what their plan of action is when it comes to Chamberlain. Although he hasn’t exactly proved his value, it would be silly to let Chamberlain’s contract run down and so it’s vital that an extension is agreed soon. From that point onwards, Arsenal should either focus on shipping the player out of the club, or get him to dramatically up his game.
By AH