Southampton’s captain, Jose Fonte, says he’s spoken to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain about returning to the club he left in 2011.
The then 16 year old was a summer purchase, and made his debut in the 8-2 spanking at Old Trafford. Since then injury problems and an inability to nail down a specific position have hindered his progress at Arsenal, and speculation over his future is rife at the moment.
Much of that is down to his agent and the fact he’ll have just 2 years left of his current deal this summer. It’s a pivotal time for player and club, which is why the links to Southampton, West Ham and both Manchester clubs have been popping up.
Fonte admitted he’d had a conversation with his former teammate about going back to St Mary’s, but said he didn’t get much in the way of encouragement.
“I know how good he is,” Fonte told Just Football. “We played together when he was only 15 or 16. So I’ve known him for a long time, And I am not going to lie: we talked about it [going back].
“I asked him, I spoke to him, I am good friends with him. I want the best for him but what can I say? He’s an Arsenal player. He’s happy there.
“He has the quality to be a star player at Arsenal but what I mean is we would love to have him back.If we want to put a team out to fight for trophies, to fight in European competitions, why not?
“He knows he has a place in our hearts and he knows that anytime he wants a place in Southampton he has it. We are going in the right path. We want to achieve better and bigger things. So it’s up to him.”
And, you know, up to Arsenal. But let’s not let that get in the way of anything.
I think it’s time for him to find somewhere more to his level, so quite happy that Southampton are talking him up.
Now if they could do the same for walcott…
Why are we so concerned by this? by all regards he and Walcott should be sold for far better options. the English youth project did not really pan out for us. time to move on, and go for a ready made product.
Give him one more season imo
I’d say sure if next season wasn’t Wenger’s last, but with that being the case, I’d like for Arsene to go big and really go for it one last time, so he can leave in some level of glory. If Ox stays next season, rest assured he’ll be scrapped by the next manager and thereby wasting a season with us next year when we could have upgraded and maybe won something. I just don’t see this squad with Walcott and Ox being part of it as capable of winning the league let alone European desires.
Still have time for the Ox. It’s been a nightmare season for him. But it started so well with the Charity Shield win and his goal. I still think he can come good for us and I wouldn’t sell him.
Walcott is different. After ten years it’s in our interests and his to make a clean break of it. If we can get a decent price akin to what we paid and he can go somewhere we he stand a chance of starting regularly, then it’s in all parties interests to move on.
Walcott has been an expensive experiment that only Wenger would implement. Similar to Diaby. How much has such experiments cost us in wages and fees etc over the years???
If a player wasnt working for Fergie, he would get rid of them within a couple of seasons. Remember Veron? I don’t know of any other manager who would give so much time to a player
Remember De Bruyne (Chelsea), Pique (United), Henry (Juventus)… Nothing hurts more than to let a talented player go & then watch him flourish at another club.
Diaby’s issues were injury related. We gambled & hoped he would come good. We did the same with the Dutch skunk & got a fantastic 18 months + 25mil out of him at the end. Ox needs more time to prove himself.
Chinaman, you could add Paul Pogba (United) and Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) to that list.
Little bit tapping up….
(whether you want to keep the Ox or not)
I think we can all agree he’s been sub par this season and towards the end of last season. Before that injury at the opening day against Aston Villa in 2013 he was someone who played with a lot of confidence and decisiveness, a huge contrast to now. We know he’s capable of more but since coming back from injuries he’s not even been starter material. However at this stage, I don’t think we should write him off just yet based on this season. I reckon it’d be an ok idea to send him on loan to a club like… Read more »
Don’t let the door hit you on your way out. Can’t wait to see the back of him, 5 years at Arsenal and has not progressed at all in fact he has become a defensive liability wherever he plays. Can’t believe that he is ahead in the pecking order to the detriment of a more deserving player in Joel Campbell.
He’s gonna come good, he’s only young! Give him a bloody chance! I personally really rate him.. We’ve had so called ‘world class’ players that really underperformed this season as well. English alexis in the making I reckon!
That sounds soooo exciting! Not sure myself, but here’s hoping! COYG!
Hard to say what to do with Ox. I’d be uttery ruthless and let him go to be honest. An injury-free season out on loan playing regularly could do him good, but either way we need to buy some wide players this summer and if a loan doesn’t help him progress then we won’t get half as much for him next summer as this.
There’s no reason to be disrespectful to a player who put on the red & white. He tried his best it didn’t work out, end of.
Seriously?
Seriously. If anything, it’s rare for the Ox to not be committed to a game, and his performances are almost all energetic at least, if not effective, and its more than some of our squad players can say. It’s not as if players go into a match thinking “well hey, that looks like a mean bloke let me go tackle him for a three-month vacation to spend EVERY DAY lifting weights and doing rehab stretches in the physio room. That’s definitely my ideal career. I never want to step on a pitch again.” He’s young blood, and he didn’t do… Read more »
No poo meter no party.
That being said if we’re to be ruthless in the window, in a perfect world we should buy someone reliable and capable of making an immediate impact. Like Ox I suppose but consistent and more resilient.
I don’t have patience for Theo anymore, but I want to see the Ox for one more season.
I agree. I still think there is a dangerous player in there. Worth another year IMO
People talk about Ox and Walcott as if they’re the same person
Why are you talking about Kieran Gibbs?
Sorry, I meant Lewis Hamilton
I know a Liverpool fan that would love the ox to join the scouse!!!
Honestly think Ox is underrated on the back of a poor season. He’s had moments in Europe for me as exciting as Wilshere. I really thought he’d kick on this year but players develop and make breakthroughs at different times in their careers – look at Vardy, Mahrez, Payet etc.
I really want to see him have a prolonged run in the center in pre season. As almost a like for like with Cazorla. His ability to beat a man and break are much better suited to central midfield, like many of our players he doesn’t know how to cross but he has a wicked shot and I think would be a great long term replacement for Santi. Trying to avoid the term ‘internal solution’….I love Elneny/Coq but we should never be playing two holding type midfielders at home especially against teams like Norwich etc….
Does this not count as tapping up?
I’d like to know when Fonte became the chairman of Southampton.
Ox deserves at least one more season at the club. He has the potential to be world class.
“and made his debut in the 8-2 spanking at Old Trafford”
A bit harsh to highlight that imo.
Hi Paul! Your favourite Arseblog poster here.
Don’t think Blogs was villifying Chamberlain in that
Not quite my favourite but hi
I would let him go on loan and see how he gets on. If he plays well he can come back if not we offload him.
As much as I’ve been frustrated with his lack of progress this season and in the last 5 seasons at that he has the good fortune of youth on his side. At only 22 we can afford to keep him for one more season. If he does not deliver then Wenger/whoever is in charge can decide whether to sell him or keep him. As long as we learn from Theo and don’t keep Ox around longer than he should in the hope of him blossoming into a world beater I am in full support of him staying.
A good squad player, he just needs to be switched on a bit more during matches!!!!!
Get rid of Walcott, keep Chamberlain for one more season. Buy Mahrez if he is really available for 25 million and would join us – I doubt it, but you never know till you try – and play Sanchez/Welbeck as our strikers.
If we can’t sign a top quality striker we need to use the one top quality striker we already have in our team but aren’t playing as a striker.
I know this wont get posted but the only reason people are still willing to give the another chance is because he’s english, if ge deserves that much, how about campbell? People are going to talk about bullshit “potential ceilings” and how promising the ox might have seen but campbell has actually 1) been fit more often
AND 2) delivered more. Don’t know about you lot but thats two wins in my book when you consider our player history.
I respect everyones opinion on this blog, but it really irks me when people lump Ox with Theo in the ‘lets sell them’ category. Last time I checked Ox is 22/23, not 27, and he hasn’t played any contract signing shenanigans. He’s fast, STRONG and can dribble (notice how without a good dribbler we’ve suffered?). Yes he has his weaknesses but these can be mitigated, and i think he has amazing potential. He could be our long-term Sanchez. That goal against Burnley I think it was, and about 2 years ago vs Bayern when he dribbled past 3 or 4… Read more »
Walcott can go but the Ox should see out his contact and lets see what happens then.
The OX deserves another season!
Managerial change must come before player sales in my opinion.
Our British player have all under gone a decline this season and that lies at the feet of the manager. The fact that dispite each of Walcott, Ramsey and the Ox having played well over a hundred matches for the club, on one actually knows where their best positions are.
Wengers chopping and changing of their positions has left them all confused and demoralised.
Hey Southampton.
That’s a no go for chamberlain.
May we interest you in a Walcott instead? Does he have a place in your hearts too?
Can we be done with purchasing young players from Southampton? Sell then all back for a profit.
Why did I get his name in my jersey this year. I saw this working out better.
It’ll be a shame for Ox to depart Arsenal now. He should at least stick out one more season. Wenger has been fantastic bringing in/up younger players recently since he added experience in every position, a process disrupted by key departures. We have seen Coquelin, Campbell, Bellerin, Iwobi all come through. None were given the faith by many of Arsene’s fiercest critics. Coquelin – Get out while you can Campbell – Dick Law wasting his time in the Costa Rican jungle Bellerin – Give us (the more limited) Jenkinson Iwobi – who? So you think you know more than Wenger… Read more »
The problem I feel is Wenger has made a habit of buying low priced players and making them into high end players. Think Kosicelny Monreal but also the likes of almost every single signing he has made from Llungberg to Viera even. And he has largely been successful. Which has allowed us to build our finances as he sold high. But the current landscape is a challenge as there is now a double squeeze. Yes, we have plenty of dosh to spend but so do a number of teams (who have more still) AND with the TV distribution (a good… Read more »
I think you make a good point – I agree Wenger probably recognises that we need quality over quantity.
Further to that, I’d say he also is very much in the process of weening himself off paying low prices. If anything – our last 3 transfers show us that he’s willing and able to spend; Mesut, Sanchez and Cech (who was cheap but you know what I mean).