It looks like the Arsenal and England international star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be heading on a collision course with his club manager Arsene Wenger over the subject of the under 21 Euro championships next summer. And it is not the first time that the inclusion of the young Arsenal players for the England under 21 side has been an issue.
The last time was when the current Nottingham Forest manager Stuart Pearce was in charge for England at the last Euro tournament and he complained about not having his best players available, because the likes of Jack Wilshere had already played for the senior side. And the powers that be seem to have taken this on board even though they did not back him at the time.
Wenger’s opinion on the issue is clear and he has stated it again this week. The Frenchman claims that it is a backward step that could be harmful to the young players’ careers, but as reported by ESPN, at least one of the young Gunners involved, the Ox, clearly disagrees and has declared that he would be happy to play in the tournament next summer.
Chamberlain said, “You’d never turn your nose up at something like that. But there’s a lot that goes into that because the national team have two games around the same time as the tournament so it’s up to Roy Hodgson to decide what he wants.
“When that time comes around I’ll have to think about it,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said. “Gareth [Southgate] might not even want me. It’s a discussion that will be had closer to the time with the England manager, someone at Arsenal and Gareth Southgate.”
I can see why the Ox wants to play, especially as his World Cup was ruined by injury this summer. I can also see why Wenger would rather that he, Calum Chambers and Jack Wilshere did not go and just had a good rest next summer, but surely the extra international experience would do them all good. And they might even win it, which would certainly be good for them.
What do you make of this Gooners?