Leicester City are the latest club to be linked with a move for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Today’s Sunday Mirror report that Claudio Ranieri is keen to bring the versatile midfielder to the King Power Stadium, as speculation over his Arsenal future continues.
In the last few months the 22 year old has been linked with Man City, Man Utd, Southampton (numerous times, including a bit of tapping up from their captain), and West Ham.
He’s entering the final two years of his contract come June, a time when clubs look to tie down players with new terms. However, after a season in which he’s failed to kick on the way many expected, perhaps the offer from Arsenal, if there is one, isn’t quite what was expected – hence his agents creating plenty of buzz about him.
Speaking earlier this month, after a fresh injury ruled him out of the European Championships, Arsene Wenger seemed keen to keep hold of the Ox, saying, “We invested a lot of time, so we will not give up now.”
With the player sidelined with a knee injury until July at least, it seems unlikely that anything will happen in the short-term, and it feels like there’s a lot of posturing going on at the moment.
The Mirror story also says we’re looking to replace Oxlade-Chamberlain with Southampton’s Saido Mané.
As such, we’re not inclined to take this too seriously, earning it a runny 8 on the Poo-o-Meter.
Ho hum
I wud sell Ox. He has actually gone backwards this season. If an exchange deal for Mahrez cud be struck for Ox + Cash that wud be a the move of the summer.
Right, Ranieri is definitely gonna eat up deal, he’s clearly waiting to sign away his best player right after they won the title for the Ox.
Ox can be better, and it would be silly to let him go before actually seeing the limit of his skill. He needs to just be less rash in challenges and work on his fitness, and his confidence will return. He’s got a wicked dribble and an insane change of pace. These are weapons worth developing, particularly the latter.
Problem is, he’s had 5 seasons and almost 150 appearances to develop, but he hasn’t really improved that much. If we let him run his contract down, we’ll lose money on him and can we honestly say that he’s done enough to merit an extension?
Yeah it’s a gamble, certainly, and it seems that the risk is high with the Ox. But, I don’t think it’s fair to sum it down to numbers. We know how intermittent his involvement has been, and that’s largely been due to him running knees-first into every shiny shinpad he can find. If he can actually play with some consistency, then I think it’s worth a shot for one season. He’s not going to drive any kind of fee in the market as of now anyway, so there’s simply no reason to pretend like he’s a sinking boat when he’s… Read more »
Just like Coq went backwards and needed a short loan and the rest is history. His best position is deep CM he’s more than likely to get a run out with Flamini, Artea and Rosicky gone.
Don’t wanna lose the Ox. But Would be relatively pleased with Mane as a signing – think he would perform well at a big club
I know it’s not a fashionable opinion, but I would be absolutely gutted if he left.
Agree. Funny that, I could happily say goodbye to Walcott, but just something about Ox. I dunno if he’ll ever make it with us though.
although he didnt play all that much still he cost us more goals than anyone else. I never get the love people have for him. if it was Joel we would all do what we did to Ebouè or Gervinho…
i don’t get the hate people have for him either. At the start of last season he was touted by all and sundry to be ready to explode. One iffy season and people want him out. It’s the epitome of fickleness and is, quite frankly, a bit embarrassing.
There’s something about him: we all know he brings this sense of intensity when he plays. But after training for 4+ years with technical gods like Rosicky, Santi and Arteta, he still hasn’t picked up the deftness of the game. His first touches are poor, his judgement of where his playmaking team-mates are is poor, and his ability to rationalise when to shoot is just awful for a final third player. His runs and vision for space is good, his attitude is lovely, and so is his physical presence, but he doesn’t work hard enough (or hasn’t inculcated the technical… Read more »
Maybe he just needs better coaching
People hoped he would have a break-out season this year, but nobody ever said that Ox had arrived. So I don’t think it is fickle. The people who hoped it would happen saw that it didn’t happen, and are prepared to say as much when sharing their opinion. Personally, I think it is a problem to keep hold of a player simply because we’ve invested time and money in him, as Wenger said. I don’t care who the player is and how long he’s been at the club: if he’s underperforming and there’s an upgrade available, you have to put… Read more »
His work rate is high, his pace is phenomenal, he’s one of the best dribblers we’ve had for a while, we know he has a rocket of a shot on him. Just because he’s had a hit and miss season, I think it’s too early to write him off and want him sold. That’s my opinion. If you want to be the sort of fan that requires instant success without any loss of form (even from a young player) then good luck to you. The thing is, we’re not that sort of team, and we never have been, so I’m… Read more »
It depends on what you want, Danny. I’m the “sort of fan” that wants my team to be successful. Arsenal have developed a reputation in the last ten years or so of being a club that rewards potential before proven ability, and therefore to be willing to field young players. But that hasn’t translated to much success, has it? I think we do give players a chance, and we’ve given Walcott and even the Ox plenty of chances to show us that our faith wasn’t misplaced. But if there are better players in those positions, I think we should be… Read more »
Fair points all round third pleb. It’s a personal thing I suppose, but I would rather earn success with hard work than just go out and buy it. Again, not a popular view but there you go.
Coq…
He’s young he’s had a bad season. I don’t want to go there but so did De Gea. Media got on his back and look at him now. Second best keeper in the league after Cech of course.
To summate less fickleness and short termism and more faith.
Cheer, Danny. I’m a bit on the fence on this one, to be honest. I can see why Wenger would give him another year, but I feel he’ll do better somewhere else where there’s less pressure.
Ox is young enough that he’s worth the gamble on another year. Keeping him doesn’t mean he’s starting every match but you hope (like many others) that he can stay fit for the season and kick on. Our form doesn’t this past season didn’t make it ideal for many to succeed. Clearly he was a contributing factor that but he’s worth keeping around another year for sure
Come back in August, enjoy the summer away from this unlikely froth, is my advice.
Tough for a football news site when most of the news is speculative at best. Perhaps an ongoing feature that shows the build up of our squad and the squads under Mourinho, Guardiola, Conte, Klopp etc to see how formidable or not they will be and what we will have to compete against? I think next season will be tough for Arsenal given the new managerial strength in the PL.
I love when people moan about speculative reports and then demand speculative reports (about how Arsenal will perform next season).
Player transfers interest fans. If it doesn’t interest you, then I suggest you take your own advice and come back in August.
Read what I wrote, I’m asking for facts on the squads not speculation. On the basis of the facts – squads and managers – then we can assess how hard next season will be.
And also, my advice is to come back in August – I’ve posted that on here before several times – as 99%+ of transfer speculation is b*ll*cks designed to get clicks. Only read the BBC, Arsenal.com or this site, unless you haven’t got better things to do in the summer.
Is it August? 😐
I hope you’re not struggling on that. As well as struggling again on reading what I put:
‘Only read the BBC, Arsenal.com or this site, unless you haven’t got better things to do in the summer.’
At least then you’ll get (mostly) facts.
I think I misread your initial post, which I took to be a complaint about the content of this site. Sorry.
Np, I was sympathising with a news site in close season plus trying to give a suggestion on some useful content that could build up over the summer. There must be other ideas as well that we all could suggest (eg ratings from international performances eg interesting statistics on trends for the club and individual players) that would be interesting and not transfer speculation tripe (though this site is pretty good on not giving too much of that).
Thanks for clarifying, and not calling me out for what I was (a dick). Totally agree with you on the sympathy.
Ox has lot of potential but his development has been really really really slow…., can we blame it on injuries ? won’t sell him though
big fan of the ox. any chance we can swap theo for mahrez instead?
I think we should sell him. He won’t develop right with us. Best of luck to him.
Unlike Theo, i’m not ready to cut our losses on Ox yet. Still feel like there is something to come from him and other than Sanchez he’s the only direct player we have. Don’t mention Theo… just please don’t.
If we don’t sign a winger this summer (which I think we should), the Ox will have a fantastic chance to make that right side his own. I know he failed to do so this season, but he is still young and has been unlucky with injuries as well. Two seasons ago he looked like the real deal out there, and I hope he can find that form again and build further on it. Too soon to let him go IMO.
Alexis now plays on the right.
I think Alexis plays better on the right too. We really do need a left footed winger that can stay wide on the left. We are extremely narrow in the final third and regularly attack with our full backs to add width. It’s cost us when we’re caught on the counter.
I agree. I like having a left footer on the left.
Alexis “cut centrally from the left” became obvious to all.
I think Wenger will play Jack there though.
I’d like Shaqiri. Know he’s not as popular with most as he was a few years ago but think he was just too young. Only 24 and I’m sure he’s going to want another crack at a big club at some point.
I think Ox has had his worst season in an Arsenal shirt. Every time he’s lost the ball it has resulted in the opposition scoring. He’s clearly lacking in confidence, but I think we should stick for him, asa a squad player, for a while.
If there is anyone that should be sold I think it’s Walcott. 10 years now and I don’t think he’s improved enough. Especially with all the problems he gave us with his wage demands,
Alex Plopslade-Chamberlain
Yes please! Get rid of this piece of dead wood. Also sell Walcott and Wilshere while they still have some worth and keep getting some real (foreign) players like Santi once, now Xhaka.
Still, Wenger must go for things to really change. Wenger Out.
Ox is staying at least for the next season.
Dybala might be a good addition as a striker. He’s young and quick, very different to Giroud. He scored 19 last season in serie a as compared to morata’s 7. Thoughts, anyone?
Why would he leave Juventus? I know lots of Arsenal fans seem to think we’re a bigger draw than practically every team outside of the big 2 in Spain, Bayern and the money bags teams here, but Juventus are a huge team with massive revenues of their own and a more illustrious history than us. They’ve also just won the double 2 years in a row and got to the CL final last season. Add to that, that he’s familiar with the language and culture, having played in Italy for a few years (and because the South American culture is… Read more »
I understand where you are coming from. And trust me I’m not one of those who think we can have anyone just because we are financially capable. But Dybala isn’t one of those A list players like Suarez or Lewandowski etc. I think he falls in the bracket below that. Going purely by footballing terms he should stay at juventus rather than come here. But things don’t always work that way. If we are really interested in him I feel we should place a 40 odd million quid bid and check their resolve. Aubemayang is a good shout but will… Read more »
Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to completely dismiss the idea, I just personally think for the reasons I’ve stated that he is less likely than Aubameyang (even if he is in more demand). The thing about competition for Aubameyang is that it might be paper talk as far as the supposed interest is concerned – those other clubs already have strikers on board that are good enough. If one or more of them comes in with a figure that we can’t compete with, then fair enough. One thing’s for sure, we definitely won’t sign him if we don’t put in… Read more »
Not sure if dortmund want to lose any more players since Hummels left for bayern. They are back inthe CL, bayern will change manager and Tuchel is in his second season so they might have a chance at the title next season. Throwing enough money would surely do it but it would be something like 65mil. Morata seems more likely imho.
Your points are valid, and they are reasons why it will probably not happen. I agree that it would need a crazy amount, such as you have suggested, and that is the sort of amount I’m talking about.
Personally I thought we should have gone for him or Reus last season, after they’d had a terrible previous year and Tuchel had only just arrived.
I like Morata, but for the money touted for him he’s not got enough end product (although if he could finish like he did in the Coppa Italia final every week, he’d probably be worth it!).
I think Morata’s case is very tricky… I mean his goals/game numbers are not so convincing at all, but a couple of days ago I compared him to other top strikers (with more than 6 goals) in Europe and I was very surprised on what I have found. If you take into consideration the time (mins.) the players spent on the field AND how many shots on goal did they had (per game): Morata seems to be one of the most clinical striker in Europe. (he is the 20th from more than 150 players – he is ahead of Benzema(24),… Read more »
Agree. The sums reported for Morata have varied from 30 mil to 50 mil so we’ll see. Wenger will probably move only if the price is right, with the usual add-ons included accoding to goals scored, arsenal winning something etc…
they haVE SIGN dembele and have been link with heavily link with gameiro the sevilla striker , i think they are ready for a summer where aubemayang will be link with anyone with money and could be sold if a big offer came on
I know 9/10 times a loan is more of a final nail at his age but i’d be more than happy to see him have a loan to a mid table team that plays the right football (ie not Pulis United) and see whether the games give him the confidence to push on. Selling him now would be jumping the gun a bit in my opinion.
Saw an article too saying that Leicester wanted Walcott as part of a swap for Mahrez but that Theo wasn’t keen on Leicester. Unlikely but if thats true I really hope someone has a word with him because thats a deal I could definitely get on board with
what? even if Theo wants to go why the hell they would want to bring in a player whose monthly wage is as much they payed to “buy” mahrez. and that being Theo Walcott?! Im not buying that rumor
pretty sure this article is bollocks like the millions you will read for the next 3 month (at least most of them)
Much as I would like to believe there’s a chance of that happening, I’d have to give it something like 30 poos on the poo-meter. I’d give shorter odds on Gunnersaurus turning out to be a real T Rex.
Ox’s constant opportunities seem to come at the expense of Joel Campbell, so for that reason I’m ok with him going. He makes a lot of mental errors. That bit vs Monaco in CL was just inexcusable. I feel everyone saying there’s something about him, I have a long sleeve Chamberlain home shirt. But with his power and pace it’s worrying that he’s been so bad. Let Southampton give us a bunch of money for him
To be fair, he had got a goal back for us in that game (a really good one at that). In hindsight it would have been better to lose 0-2, but he wasn’t the only player to go gung-ho once our goal went in. The crowd was egging on the team to go for it as well – everyone was wise after the event.
Yeah, but we all knew at the time we couldn’t let Monaco get three away goals. That isn’t hindsight. That giveaway is an example of something he actually does all the time, miscontrolling the ball when trying to be direct and start an attack. It makes his biggest threat hardly ever effective and sometimes even costly. Maybe that’s down to a lack of confidence, I’m not a footballer. But who knows when he’ll switch on. I just don’t want to see Wenger turn down another player bc he has faith in the Ox coming good. That may not happen.
In my head we need new players all over the pitch if we’re to win the Champions’ League. That said moving the Ox and Walcott on (while we can still cash in on them) wouldn’t be such a bad idea. But only if we get in someone very much better. If that player was Leroy Sane (Schalke – guaranteed to be a star one day) then I wouldn’t be too unhappy. €40M today – €70m in two years time. The same was true of Griezmann. He was always a very good player, and he was affordable once – now, not… Read more »
The argument of Ox vs Theo is simple, Ox seems like a really nice bloke.
Theo needs to pursue his acting career with Eurocar.
I would be opting for Campbell ahead of both Ox and Theo
I absolutely agree with this. But for some reason, Wenger doesn’t. A shame.
I really hope he leaves.
The real worry Ox has is that next season we’re gonna have guys like Wellington Silva and Gnabry back; both players who offer the same qualities as him. And with just 1 goal and no assists, it’s not like they have a high standard to bear. And then of course there’s Iwobi. Just a shame Wenger is happy to sacrifice Campbell for Ox. As someone who’s experienced it in the work place, nothing worse than working as hard as possible in either school or your workplace, but no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be recognised over your manager’s… Read more »
give us Mahrez already
I feel Theo and Ox have got used to being poor and I can’t see it changing.
Think his contract should extended by 1 year and sent on loan for one season, similarly to campbell, for a ball-playing midtable club like stoke or everton. Or to bundesliga/italy. He won’t be first choice next season and would benefit from playing regularly somewhere for a whole season as he has the potential. Would be sad if he started blossoming somewhere else after all the years at arsenal.
When Ox first started with the first team Mikel Arteta told him to close a gap in the midfield and he quite clearly, on camera, told his Captain to “Fuck Off”, sauntered off down the sidelines and the opposition (can’t remember who it was) came straight through that gap and scored. He pulled that same trick a few games later with Kos. I’ve never liked him much since then, and although there is definately some talent in there I’ve always thought he has an attitude problem, and he doesn’t seem to apply himself and learn. I’d be quite happy if… Read more »
someone please approve this comment? (or deny it?) if that’s for real I can imagine he may be bullying Wenger his way to the team ahead of poor Joel. its the most logic reason I guess.
“fuck off Joel Im playin today” “b-but boss said-” Wenger nervously shakes his head at Joel “wankers” says the Oxlade while walking to the pitch (later on that day he gives the ball away leading to a goal most possibly)
I don’t know Campbell or ever met him.
But I do know a girl who doesn’t think too highly of him after trying to treat her like a piece of meat (2 Masters and another on the way before the age of 26 says otherwise) and she did not appreciate that.
Not saying it means anything on the pitch, but having a bad attitude seems to be coming from different sources.
All speculation. May be a nice lad. But I do remember that pitch incident.
Oh yeah, and he has a snake of an agent.
Campbell?
If we’re going to judge players because of their moral life off the pitch, I’m sorry, but you’re not going to end up with too many players at your club.
Walcott is a lovely, lovely bloke, and seems to treat his wife and family with respect and care. But I don’t want him anywhere near a football pitch.
I care infinitely more about their attitude on the pitch, and if that story about Ox is true, I’m sorry, that’s despicable.
They can be linked all day long but there no way he will sold to any club. ..they guy is young and has good potentials.
I have always liked his “potentials” me. 😉
Was a huge fan of ox. Not as much anymore but I think he deserves one more season.
Hey Arseblogger, you do realize some of us who read this blog are on the other side of the pond. I wake up to your posts while having coffee and possibly breakfast. Thanks for the runny poo image.
1. Keep Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott for another season and their re-sale value probably goes down. 2. Wait one more year for their replacements will only see their own costs to us go up. This is especially true if they are as good as we think they are. Last seasons’ €30M player costs €50M this year. 3. Thinking we can find replacements from our own ranks (i.e. Wellington Silva and Gnabry) when we already have Campbell and Iwobi makes no sense. With more TV money available to the whole of the Premier League we need to look to buy and sell… Read more »
meanwhile I’m still waiting for Yaya Sanogo to become a 20+ goal a season striker
Everyone is. But it looks like his potential came to nothing…
Not going anywhere. Too much potential. More likely Walcott IF Leicester can pay… In other news, Bellerin won the young player of the year award pipping yet again Spurs and their overrated team + Dele Allii.:D Currently, Granit looks a rock solid buy by Wenger and sets the tone early for the summer. Wenger fully realises he needs to transition quicker from the back. Neither Ramsey nor Elneny have the passing ability of Granit and we missed the passing from deep/playmaker role Santi gave us when he went out injured. Reliant on just Ozil, it was easier to snuff us… Read more »
Morata didn’t get much game-time under MaureenO at RM and I think he even mentioned it in an interview back then. I’m not sure if that means he doesn’t like him or he now appreciates that as an 18/19 year old he was lucky to get any game-time under MaureenO…