Arsene Wenger hopes that Alex Oxlade Chamberlain’s goal against Bournemouth will give the midfielder the confidence he needs to become a consistently dangerous presence in the final third.
The 22-year-old’s clinical low drive doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 2-0 win at Dean Court and came a week after his smart run and cross had helped Alexis Sanchez score against Burnley in the FA Cup.
Hoping Chamberlain has reached a tipping point in his career, the boss reflected on the England international’s increasingly effective performances.
“He got an assist, then he scored and that sometimes opens a light,” the manager told Arsenal.com.
“I’m convinced that that will give him appetite to score more, to give more assists and to go more in the final third, where he can be deadly.
“You cannot imagine when you look at Alex that he will not score goals. He has power, pace, technique, finishing.
“I believe that only he maybe did not believe enough that he can score. That will convince him and hopefully it’s the start of many more.”
An outgoing and confident presence off the pitch, it’s remarkable – and somewhat concerning – that Chamberlain often fails to keep his emotions in check when things aren’t quite going his way during games. More often than not, when he misplaces a passes or fails to connect properly with a shot, he berates himself.
As the boss says, his talent isn’t in question, it appears he just needs to conquer the mental side of his game to fully flourish.
Inshallah
…..Same here
Honestly think he will hit his top level at 25/26 when he matures a bit more. I used to be similar in terms of playing style to the Ox (clearly no where near as good). I would let a single error anger me and it would then cause me to lose focus on the next event with the ball I was involved in. He needs to learn how to channel it into willpower to ensure the best technique and 100% desire is used when he next touches the ball and there is a knock on effect on other areas of… Read more »
Needs a comma in the third paragraph somewhere.
Please just don’t use examples of yourself playing footy in the park on Sundays with your mates as a point of comparison to a professional footballer. Blegh
I myself am quite similar to Bergkamp. (I play on Thursdays so it’s fine for me to say)
This made me laugh quite a lot. Fair play
Pretty certain I made it very clear that he’s way better than I will ever be. I play semi pro however, so i think I can justify my comment about what I experienced as a younger player.
Tempting to state that the chances are that I know more than you do, however I wouldn’t ever be so naive because for all I know, you could be Arsene wenger.
Also, just for the record I fucking love Danny welbeck.
And it shall be so
god willing? down votes for that. why?
Sad reality of today’s world. Islamophobia is real. A more optimistic me wants to think that it is due to bringing religion into a football forum, though.
Because people don’t know what it means…?
It’s a figure of speech. I don’t see people having a problem with phrases like sweet Lord Jesus or Christ’s sake etc. Why do you bring religion into this.
All I meant to say was God willing and I’m not even a Muslim.
I don’t think god is particularly interested in who wins the football – not that I have ever heard the saying before so it kinda went over my head until other posters started to comment/explain
I’m not so sure man… I’ve seen God score some goals that left me speechless… Notably against Newcastle and Argentina at WC ’98
Here’s a thought. Next time say “God willing” and we will ALL know what you mean. 😉
Noted
Inshallah.
Better still, I would go with Dennis Willing so we stay on topic and avoid the entire shitstorm that is religious differences.
I don’t know what ‘inshallah means’, but Indian Gooner; a phobia is an irrational fear of something — what rational person is not fearful of radical jihadism? Islamophobia doesn’t exist any more than spursophobia does.
Seriously?
“dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force.” is how google defines Islamophobia. The fact that a despicable human being like Donald Trump won a primary while claiming that he would ban the entry of all the Muslims in US, and no, he didn’t talk about radical jihadism only, in apparently the oldest democracy in the world should tell you whether or not it is real. One good thing, though is that it has brought the racist brigade out of the youtube comments for us to identify in human life
For a while I thought he was often told to run with the ball less and take less shots. He is similar to Sanchez in that he likes to dribble with the ball, which can lead to him being dispossessed. However I think he’s an immense talent and should take his chance to keep Theo out of the side.
Why keeping Theo out is your objective ?
The problem is here the media just overhype anyone with talent, and bring them down when they have a dip in form. Let’s look at spain for example, they have an immensely talented player in Isco. Not once has he been compared to Zidane, Iniesta, Xavi, etc. They let them develop on their own. It must be a lot for a young man to take.
Off topic, but in reply to today’s blog – Blogs is right, Sky will not show empty seats or fans arriving 5 minutes late, so how about some coordinated singing that they can’t ignore, once everyone is inside, e.g. “You don’t give a shit, You don’t give a shit, Sky are such arseholes, You don’t give a shit”?
We Hope So Too…….
I hope Wenger change things a bit for tomorrow, Walcott up top and Coquelin in for Flamini. Coquelin especially is crucial in stopping Leicester’s counter attacks. Giroud’s goals have been drying up of late maybe it’s worth giving Walcott a go
It’s tough to put forth a reasonable argument on goal scoring form in support of Walcott!
However I hope he has been doing enough in training to warrant start. Giroud could do with a little break not due to form but to refresh.
At this rate, I’d prefer Campbell up front than Theo.
At least he can control a ball with his first touch.
How many “goes” has Walcott had over the past ten years?
Not saying theo should start but doesn’t he have a brilliant record from starting up front.
This season he’s been better up top than on the wing. Simply a comparative thing though.
The only ‘go’ I see is the one you lot are having at theo.. giroud starts and finishes of most the games compared to theo’s cameos on the wing and he’s not exactly on a goalscoring run so why not?
Because he’s not very good at football.
The ox wasn’t in great form recently but to be fair I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player hit the post as much as he does, so he’s a little unlucky. I was worried where it would end up after hitting the post, thankfully it found the net. On the bright side i bet he wins crossbar challenge all the time.
I think hitting the post so often had effected his confidence a bit, so he was trying too hard.
Hopefully he’s over that.
I have no problem with him hitting the inside of the post…:-)
It really was a fantastic goal. Great balance and perfectly placed. It should do him a lot of good. Fingers crossed the Ox has turned a corner because, as good as Campbell has been, the Ox is much more powerful and has limitless potential if he gets his head right.
Agreed. Campbell’s a very handy squad player and will give you a 6-7 most games he plays, but the Ox is capable of hitting game changing 9/10 matches. As we’ve seen this season though, the thing holding him back are those times where he lacks self-belief and ends a game with a 4/10 performance. Really hope a run of games will help take away that self doubt, because people forget just how good he was starting to look before his injury last season. Think he actually had the second most completed dribbles in the league behind Hazard at that stage… Read more »
Imo; not only is Campbell a more technically gifted player than the Ox. He offers more defensively and is a far better goal scorer. I too want the Ox to come good, but I question if this is the time to gamble with his obvious potential.
I wonder if his dip in form has been anything to do with the loss of Alexis? I know he hasn’t really played well all season but has also been largely kept out by Aaron Ramsey playing on the right.
Last season the Ox put in some really good performances and seemed to be hugely inspired by Alexis. I wonder if his performance was in some way effected by the influence of Alexis being back on the pitch with him.
The more we hear from Wenger the more convinced I am that the line up will be as follows: Chec in goal, belarin, gabby, Kos the boss and monreal in defense; le coq, Rambo and ozil in midfield; with Sanchez, giroud and ox making up the front three. Gabby and le coq coming in to help counter the strength and speed of Leicester’s attack; with giroud softening up the centre backs and Sanchez and ox running the full backs ragged!!
Think I hate everything you stand for.
Ok!!! Weirdo!!!
Mike, are you eating your words yet? Ciderman got ten out of eleven right, and he was only wrong on Gabriel because hegot injured this morning.
Love the Ox. Just needs to stop acting like a spastic kitten when he’s on the ball in our defensive third. Too many errors that have resulted in goals to be just bad luck.
We have a strong back five, Coq is back, Alexis and Ozil are match fit…
“View Halloo” COYG let’s smash Leicester and put a stop to all this nonsense!
I think the problem with Ox this season is mostly related to his injuries and the resulting rust/dip in confidence that comes along with these situations. Also the injuries in other positions may have forced Wenger’s hand tactically in game. But I distinctly remember an interview where Ox spoke about his biggest critic being his father. And if he’s constantly worrying about measuring up to his father’s career and game to game expectations it may affect him more than us fans or the team realize. #daddyissues?? He certainly wouldn’t be the first athlete to go through it and I wouldn’t… Read more »
Can anyone confirm the ozil story as just a rumor??
What story?
We’re playing Barca so what do the spanish press come up with? It’s all crap, he’s happy at Arsenal and going nowhere, they’re trying to upset you!
The thing about that story that makes it absolutely believable is that bit about Arsenal not being able to compete for the biggest trophies. If you look at our record this year compared to last years, we only improved by 3 points in the league. So yeah, I would be worried about Özil wanting to leave on account of us not being able to challenge for PL and CL. Wenger needs to get his shit together quickly, before exodus of the best players starts to happen again. And make no mistake – if we win the league this year it… Read more »
Our best players left because the Club was in need of the cash. Now that we’re in a better financial position, no one is leaving. Much respect to Wenger for what he has achieved. I’ll be bidding for a tender to make his statue.
It’s total shite. Don’t get caught up in it.
I was thinking of this idea the other day. Do you think Arseblog news or someone on Reddit can come up with a “guff you shouldn’t bother reading” thread? It might help half of us avoid the BS transfer guff we all succumb to reading. Obviously, our clicks are infectious and there’s an epidemic of such articles. Do you guys think this can work? The poo meter was similar, but It would be great to see a year round coverage of “avoid this bs”. I know I ask too much, sigh…
Sanchez seems to be in the nets for bournemouth AFC
Buicheas le Dia!
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Here we go again!
Been unlucky with injuries the ox.
A little off topic and I don’t want to veer into a “Best XI” thing, but in thinking about the Ox I wondered if the following lineup makes the best use of our players and helps to solve the “midfield problem:” Cech Bellerin – Koscielny – Gabriel – Monreal Coquelin Ox – Ramsey – Ozil – Alexis Giroud Pros: Assuming Ozil plays a No. 10 role and Ramsey moves around a lot and makes runs into the box, this could be tasty. Giroud to hold up/knock down, Ox and Sanchez with pace, Ramsey bombing in Yaya-esque goals with late runs,… Read more »
I remember we tried a 4-14-1 a few seasons ago to accommodate Ramsey and Wilshere. It didn’t go very well….
We lined up as 4 2 3 1 formation on paper but play as 4 1 3 2 because…
Ramsey. He plays where he want.
Not suprised with 14 midfielders, we were well out of order
The pressure is on is to win this. Ox has shown improvement in the last couple of games and let’s hope that continues. Coq has to start. Flaming won’t be able handle the pace of Leicester on the counter attack. Gab and Kos at the back. Walcott on the bench. The rest of the team picks itself. COYG
As I mentioned before he has goals in him. Ox brings a different dynamic to the team with his close control and runs. He just needs to be more mindful when playing out from defense. And again this brings me to all these simplistic comparisons between Gabriel and Per, Flamini and Coquelin Ox and Campbell. Pace is not everything. As is illustrated by Campbell Ox. In this case, I have mentioned before that rather than the chasm some believe to be, the two players are closer in competition than you think using different positives and negatives which if refined we… Read more »
I hope he can kick on now and go on a Freddie esq goal scoring run until the end of the season!
Morgan and Huth are beauty beasts. Play with pace, score early, smash them with Ozil getting assists for Sanchez, Walcott and chamberlain early doors. And as if it was the movie independence day, show them how to take them down. Morse code or whatever. Destroy them with pace and quality, as no one seems to have taken our note from earlier in the season. “Let’s get those bastards!”
And if anyone needs more encouragement, Vardy is racist, Simpson beats up women, can’t let these wankers win the league
Let us gobsmack the wankers.
Just saw the line-up. It’s a strong one in terms of attacking force. If we don’t win this one, then there’s seriously something wrong with this team.
I don’t think a win is guaranteed. Have you heard of Leicester?? And as it is, we’re already one down. I think it’ll be tough work to come back from this one
FUCK YEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Stuff of Champions, eh? 😀
Coyg well done arsenal fc theo oi welbeck fkg gd header cmon vity
You see level
It’s that guy
Football is such magnificent thing. Happiness all over the place. Great stuff.
Where’s the news???
Blogs has to re-write the whole match report after that euphoric late goal from DAT GUY.
pretty sure Blogs was at the game if I remember correctly.
Here’s the news:
Arsenal outfox the Foxes!!! Welbeck’s dreamy finish has Arsenal fans in a fantastically giddy mood on St. Valentine’s day. Expect a baby-boom of Arsenal fans in about 40 weeks!
Someone’s having a piece of humble pie today eh? What with the whole theo bashing on this same thread
OK , I told you I will be coming back to that comment I made and I was thumbed down like mad, I told you we will beat Bournemouth and Leicester, and now I’m back waving the rights of my comment !
Well if your nerves weren’t shot before the game they sure as eggs were throughout lol gonna have to re-live it on MOTD tonight!!! Wow!!!
We were by far the better team and dominated for long periods. Not seen the penalty on TV as was at the game but surely we should had a free kick in their third before they broke ?
Yes, and the penalty was dodgy too, and we should have had a penalty before that, and Leicester should have finished with nine men because Drinkwater’s 74th minute assault on Ramsey was a straight red not a “play on lads”, but WHO FUCKING CARES?
FUCK YEAH, DANNY WELBECK!