Chelsea are eager to pounce on unsettled Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Arsenal could be set to lose Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to bitter rivals Chelsea, according to new reports from the Mirror stating that The Blues will make a move next month.
The England international admitted to the Independent last season he may have to move to gain consistent first-team football, and if Chelsea are able to persuade him that is possible at Stamford Bridge, it doesn’t bode well for fellow Londoners Arsenal.
The versatile midfielder has been at The Emirates since 2011, and a failure to convince a long-serving player to stay on an issue of playing time would be a big blow. Simultaneously losing him to a rival like Chelsea, who as a recently more successful team should theoretically find it more difficult to guarantee first-team action, would illustrate the divide between the two teams and their pulling powers at present.
Antonio Conte’s side are currently riding the crest of an extended wave after securing their second Premier League title in just 3 seasons – amassing a massive total of 93 points in doing so.
Conversely, Arsenal had a league campaign to forget as they finished in 5th, outside the Champions League places for the first time in the 21 years Arsene Wenger has been at the helm.
Capped 27 times by England, Oxlade-Chamberlain is unquestionably an integral part of Wenger’s squad too, proving his value by playing in a wide variety of roles last season – including wing-back, to excellent effect.
His 29 Premier League appearances in 2016/17 is the most he has ever made in one season, and whilst Oxlade-Chamberlain clearly wants more – he was heavily involved in crucial Arsenal victories at the latter stage of the campaign.
He started Arsenal’s defeat of Manchester United in the league and perhaps more crucially, provided outstanding performances in both the FA Cup semi-final and final against Manchester City and Chelsea respectively as Arsenal went on to claim a third FA Cup in four years.
Oxlade-Chamberlain leaving may not have the same devastating effect to the team as the departures of Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas for example, but allowing talented players to join rival clubs like Chelsea as they are perceived to be a ‘bigger club’ would be so detrimental to the European superpower image The Gunners want to portray. It only further perpetuates that notion’s truth.
This is especially important in a period where every other competitor challenging for the Premier League title is adamant on strengthening.
Achieving that title is a feat that the North-London side have not accomplished since the famed ‘Invincibles’ in 2004, and Arsenal need to lay down a marker by securing their best players for any hope of those glory days re-emerging soon.
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