Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has always shown glimpses of his potential during his time at Arsenal, but is time running out for him?
The England international was signed for £12m – which could rise to £15m with add-ons – in the summer of 2011.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who came through Southampton’s successful youth system, was a highly rated midfielder and many backed him to make a bigger impact than Theo Walcott who was signed from the same club.
Chamberlain’s debut came in the worst possible circumstances. The winger was brought on as a 62nd minute substitute for Francis Coquelin in the 8-2 defeat to Manchester United, hardly a game that a youngster would ever want to debut in.
However, his season only got better from there, scoring his first goal less than a month later in the League Cup against Shrewsbury, and then replacing Theo Walcott as the youngest Englishman to score in the Champions League, exactly a month after the defeat to Manchester United.
Chamberlain was finally handed his first start – once again against Manchester United – and was supremely impressive in an otherwise drab Arsenal side. Indeed, manager Arsene Wenger’s decision to substitute Chamberlain for Arshavin in the 78th minute, when the score was tied at 1-1, was booed by Arsenal fans at the Emirates and more notably, visibly angered captain Robin van Persie, who angrily remonstrated when he saw Chamberlain’s number go up on the board. Arsenal would go on to lose that match 2-1.
Chamberlain then scored his first Premier League goals with a brace against Blackburn Rovers, and Wenger publicly praised the winger saying he had made “big steps” in “months”.
This was followed by what is probably Oxlade-Chamberlain’s most impressive performance to date. In the second leg against AC Milan, Oxlade-Chamberlain was fantastic. The winger was full of energy, tireless running and was a constant thorn in the Italian club’s side. This prompted Dutch legend Marco van Basten to brand Oxlade-Chamberlain as a “gem”, and Robin van Persie stated his belief that the youngster was the future of Arsenal and England.
The fact that his best game in an Arsenal shirt came four years ago is telling, though. Chamberlain’s career with Arsenal has no doubt constantly been hindered by injuries, with the midfielder still never crossing 25 games for the club in an entire season, across all competitions.
This has obviously stalled his development, and has made it hard for him to get a run of regular games in the side, as by the time he returns from injury someone else has established themselves in his position.
That is not to say that the Englishman doesn’t constantly have Wenger’s backing, though. One has only to look to last season when Joel Campbell was undoubtedly the better performer but was still relegated to the bench as soon as Chamberlain was fit again.
But did Chamberlain ever have what it took? Or was that just a player performing well above his standards?
There is no doubt that he has the raw talent and the physical attributes to be a success. But the biggest question that just won’t go away is this – does he have the mental attributes?
His decision making is baffling at times. Too often, Chamberlain picks the wrong pass, or chooses to pass when a shot is better. When a pass is clearly the best option, Chamberlain will instead opt to shoot. This is not borne of selfishness, but of hasty decision making, which in turn is borne of a nervous player whose confidence is too easily shaken.
A couple of mistakes, and Chamberlain visibly wilts on the pitch. Against Spurs on Sunday, he had perhaps his worst substitute appearance of them all, spraying crosses several times and on one occasion opting to shoot instead of passing to his teammate, who was in a much better position than Chamberlain was.
It is this side of Chamberlain’s game that is equally infuriating and worrying in measure. There is no doubt the talent is there, but if he would just focus more, get stronger mentally, maybe then we would see him finally deliver on some of that promising talent.
There is no doubt that a player develops the mental side of his game by playing regular games, and injuries have prevented him from doing that. Is it time now for him to move on in search of regular games? Should Arsenal keep the faith, and hope that he begins to start playing the way he promised to all those years ago against AC Milan?
Arsenal fans have begun running out of patience with Chamberlain, and this is audible in games that the Englishman performs poorly in. This has clearly shaken his confidence on many occassions, and will continue to do so.
It is also only a matter of time until Arsene Wenger – who is extremely loyal to his players – also runs out of patience.
Jack Wilshere has already made the decision for himself, and has left on loan to play at Bournemouth having recognised that his game time will be limited.
The best thing for Chamberlain to do would be to move on in a similar fashion. It would be best for Arsenal to make a clean break and sell Chamberlain, and invest in a winger who does not need time and patience.
This also represents the best path for Chamberlain to take, for the sake of his own career, as there is nothing he needs more than regular game time now, in an environment that affords him patience, time and the support of the crowd.
At a club like Arsenal, whose fans grow wearier by the day when things go wrong, Chamberlain is quickly running out of it.
