Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has already had a pretty good season for Arsenal, on a personal level at least. The 21-year old has already played more Premier League games than last season and has missed just one of the Champions League games, also scoring in both competitions.
He may have had to move around the pitch, playing in central midfield as well as both flanks and in the forward line, but Chamberlain has done well in them all. He may not have had the chances, however, if it was not for the terrible run of injury problems that have forced Arsene Wenger to keep shuffling his Arsenal pack to somehow find a Gunners starting XI.
And even though it looks like those injury issues are easing and there is a good chance the Ox may find himself on the bench more often, the England international is over the moon to see the likes of Walcott, Giroud and Debuchy coming back, because he reckons that with a fitter squad, Arsenal will be ready to really push on after christmas and put the iffy first half of the season behind us.
In the meantime, there are a few big games to get through and we really need Chambo to get over his minor groin problem to help us do that. But he seems confident that the Gunners that are fit are more than capable of getting us to the new year with no more dramas.
He told the Evening Standard, “There have been a lot of players working really hard — we see them out on the pitch and they look like they are getting stronger and stronger. To get Debuchy back is a massive lift for us because he is an international defender who brings a lot to our side. He brings a lot of experience and character so it is really good to have him back.
“Olivier can bring us goals and is a great target to hit up front. He is another massive threat going forward. We have a lot of players still coming back. Theo is not far — he is just coming back from a long knee injury and I know myself having come back from one that you do find little niggles here and there. It is just managing that for him and he will be back and firing on all cylinders soon.
“There are a number of others coming back and it seems like everyone is coming back at the right time for us. The players we have got fit at the moment are more than capable of getting the results we need in the weekends to come and to have other players coming back from injury is a bonus.”
So Gooners, do you think Arsenal’s second half will be enough to make up for the first?