Is it me, or has Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain been exceedingly quiet this season?
The young Arsenal and England star is facing another injury lay-off – and there are fears that this new set-back could wreck his Euro 2016 chances.
The Arsenal midfielder was sent for a scan after damaging his right knee and ankle in a challenge with Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano. A challenge that Arsene Wenger described as Oxlade-Chamberlain “cut in two”.
Talking to The Guardian, Wenger said: “It is a new injury. When he has been cut in two by Mascherano he did his knee. We have to see how big the damage is. I don’t think it was a malicious tackle, it was a fully committed tackle.”
He left on crutches with heavy strapping that night amid fears that he had damaged ligaments, which could mean he misses a big chunk of Arsenal’s title run-in, if not all of it.
Oxlade-Chamberlain knows missing the two next England friendlies with Germany and Holland next month will be a massive set back to his Euro hopes, surely. He has already suffered injury set-backs this season and has also struggled to hold down a regular first team place. That has probably left him worried about his long term future at Arsenal, with several clubs now looking at his situation as he will have two years left on his contract this summer.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is desperate to play for England, has been a regular for Roy Hodgson but knows time is running out on his chances to make the squad.
The loss of ‘The Ox’ is unfortunately timed, arriving as Arsenal prepare for a tough run of games to consolidate their top four finish, if not a final assault on the title. Once again, their best chance of winning the league for a while seems to be waning, but the north London side need every available player with so many games to come in a short space of time. This is, of course, the business end of the season.
“It is the key period,” said Wenger. “We work the whole season for this period. That is where you are really tested. It is the most interest period in the season, the period where you can show quality, nerves and desire.”
Under the guidance of Wenger, Oxlade-Chamberlain has partly become the player everyone expected he could be, but there is so much more to come. His move from Southampton to Arsenal in July 2011 for a fee around £15m all told could have held him back, but he has shown that he is more than capable of performing in the Premier League.
Other clubs are now looking at Oxlade-Chamberlain as a summer target, but will Wenger be ready to listen to offers for his protege just yet?
Where does his future lie?
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