Oxlade-Chamberlain maybe made the leap to Arsenal too early

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may well have featured in 26 Arsenal games this season, but he has been unable to command a regular starting place or nail down a position in the team. In fact, the 19-year-old’s importance to England seems greater, with him appearing set to feature prominently in their World Cup qualifying matches against San Marino and Montenegro.

The Guardian’s Dominic Fifield believes the young Gunner has all the ingredients to become a top player, but fears for his development at the Emirates.“Arsenal paid quite a lot of money [£12m] for him and he only had League One experience when he arrived,” he says. “I look at him and wish he’d spent a prolonged period of time developing his game in the Championship or at a Premier League club outside that top four or five. People make the comparison with Wilfried Zaha. Zaha’s got 120/130 games at Championship level – I think he’ll arrive at Manchester United a far better player and capable of mixing it far more consistently in the Premier League than Oxlade-Chamberlain, who made that leap maybe a bit too early.

“Oxlade-Chamberlain’s got all the ammunition, the ingredients are all there to do well. But I just don’t see him getting a lot of games at Arsenal, especially if they go out and strengthen in the summer again. He could be one of the ones that gets pushed further to the fringes. What is his position? Is he wide, central? No one seems to really know, least of all Arsène Wenger.
“He seems to have featured most regularly in their FA Cup team, for example, this season, which is pretty much a reserve side in many respects.”