Alex Oxlade Chamberlain

[DB10GOONER]

He was our best player by a long shot last night (although I thought Kos pushed him close at times). He drives at defenders, will try the difficult thing (but not when it is unecessary), and is as strong as an... erm... Ox...

Sure he is not the finished article yet but he is now good enough to be getting more first team PL games and that should push him up a level. Has to be at the very least on the bench ahead of the Lazy Russian.

[franksav63]

He was our best player by a long shot last night (although I thought Kos pushed him close at times). He drives at defenders, will try the difficult thing (but not when it is unecessary), and is as strong as an... erm... Ox...

Sure he is not the finished article yet but he is now good enough to be getting more first team PL games and that should push him up a level. Has to be at the very least on the bench ahead of the Lazy Russian.

Got to agree with the above, how the Ox isn't even on the bench for league games is bewildering, get a fucking grip Wenger and start playing the boy.

[Gunnerz4life]

He was our best player by a long shot last night (although I thought Kos pushed him close at times). He drives at defenders, will try the difficult thing (but not when it is unecessary), and is as strong as an... erm... Ox...

Sure he is not the finished article yet but he is now good enough to be getting more first team PL games and that should push him up a level. Has to be at the very least on the bench ahead of the Lazy Russian.

I'm just wondering if wrapping talented youngstars in cotton wool and sheilding them from the top level have worked for us of late. Fabregas and Wilshere have been the success stories for us and both were somewhat thrown at the deep end while they were very young. I acknowledge that these 2 were heads and shoulders over the likes of Vela, Diaby and Bendtner but quality wise surely AOC is closre to Wilshere than he is to Diaby.

[DB10GOONER]

He was our best player by a long shot last night (although I thought Kos pushed him close at times). He drives at defenders, will try the difficult thing (but not when it is unecessary), and is as strong as an... erm... Ox...

Sure he is not the finished article yet but he is now good enough to be getting more first team PL games and that should push him up a level. Has to be at the very least on the bench ahead of the Lazy Russian.

I'm just wondering if wrapping talented youngstars in cotton wool and sheilding them from the top level have worked for us of late. Fabregas and Wilshere have been the success stories for us and both were somewhat thrown at the deep end while they were very young. I acknowledge that these 2 were heads and shoulders over the likes of Vela, Diaby and Bendtner but quality wise surely AOC is closre to Wilshere than he is to Diaby.

I agree. I think the real talents will shine through no matter what level they are thrown in at, they will come good because they are good. I think Wenger does over protect alot of the younger players but that might be down to the fact that he feels alot (most?) of them are not top top quality and would flounder if thrown in at the deep end? Who knows.

[Gunnersaurus]

He was our best player by a long shot last night (although I thought Kos pushed him close at times). He drives at defenders, will try the difficult thing (but not when it is unecessary), and is as strong as an... erm... Ox...

Sure he is not the finished article yet but he is now good enough to be getting more first team PL games and that should push him up a level. Has to be at the very least on the bench ahead of the Lazy Russian.

Got to agree with the above, how the Ox isn't even on the bench for league games is bewildering, get a fucking grip Wenger and start playing the boy.

I honestly think its because he's planning to use him once the ACN starts and he don't want him playing a full season at his age, Wenger is a tight arse, he ain't spending that sort of money not to use him.

From Jan onwards I reckon he will feature a lot, these CC games have been giving him a taste while they work on him in training.

Really other players who have more experience should be stepping up so too much pressure is not put on him to save us.

[Gunnerz4life]

He was our best player by a long shot last night (although I thought Kos pushed him close at times). He drives at defenders, will try the difficult thing (but not when it is unecessary), and is as strong as an... erm... Ox...

Sure he is not the finished article yet but he is now good enough to be getting more first team PL games and that should push him up a level. Has to be at the very least on the bench ahead of the Lazy Russian.

I'm just wondering if wrapping talented youngstars in cotton wool and sheilding them from the top level have worked for us of late. Fabregas and Wilshere have been the success stories for us and both were somewhat thrown at the deep end while they were very young. I acknowledge that these 2 were heads and shoulders over the likes of Vela, Diaby and Bendtner but quality wise surely AOC is closre to Wilshere than he is to Diaby.

I agree. I think the real talents will shine through no matter what level they are thrown in at, they will come good because they are good. I think Wenger does over protect alot of the younger players but that might be down to the fact that he feels alot (most?) of them are not top top quality and would flounder if thrown in at the deep end? Who knows.

I will understand the overprotection if Wenger was consistent with it. It makes no sense that he will not buy a back up for Sagna saying that Jenkinson is good enough to play at the top level, yet at the same time he will not even include AOC on the bench.

[bergkamp10]

I'm just wondering if wrapping talented youngstars in cotton wool and sheilding them from the top level have worked for us of late. Fabregas and Wilshere have been the success stories for us and both were somewhat thrown at the deep end while they were very young. I acknowledge that these 2 were heads and shoulders over the likes of Vela, Diaby and Bendtner but quality wise surely AOC is closre to Wilshere than he is to Diaby.

Great post, and agree totally.

I think his ready for the bench at least. Of course he make some errors, but Cesc and Jack both played well & learned on the job. Whilst playing some great football. When more injuries strike the team, he might well be worth a punt..

[Red Member]

I thought Chamberlain looked ok last night.
probably his best game for us so far.

he is definitely improving which is good to see

[SpanishJoe]

I think we need to keep a sense of perspective.

AW was heavily criticised on this forum for spending so much money on a teenager from League 1. Now, many posters are going overboard about him i.e. "he's lightening fast" (he's not).
I think he has real talent and would use him ahead of the Fat Russian every time, but at that age he will be inconsistent (he has been for the U21s) and I'd hate to see a couple of below par performances lead to him getting stick.

Overall, I think AW has managed to bring the talented youngsters (Cesc, Jack) through well. However, he's also 'brought through' too many average ones.

[Red Member]

I agree Spanishjoe.

thats why I put he was just ok last night.

[rigsby]

Great talent. Powerful, skillful, good shot. He's got all the tools. Reminds me slightly of Rooney with the build. Looking forward to seeing the lad come on. I think Wenger should have him on the bench. Against Fulham on Sat for instance, it would have been great having him off the bench for a real threat.

[Boomer]

Physically he looks quite different to the player 6 months ago. He seemed to have a lot of chubbiness to the face but now seems more trimmed and possibly more robust.

Obviously he's on a training and development programme to strength his muscles and also develop his skills both as an attacking midfield plus the defensive side of the game.
I suppose the physical change is key for Wenger to ensure that he is ready for first team.

Like others have said I too would love to see him on the bench and pushing Theo. Infact maybe this is what Theo needed as recently he's been playing very well and consistently too, possibly knowing that his place isn't safe.

I'd rather see AOC as a game changing player then AA23.

[SteveO 35]

When Gervinho goes off to the ACN, I would play the Ox on one side and Theo on the other (based on current performances). Drop the lazy little Russian *word censored* once and for all.

As has been pointed out here already, he should at the very least be on the bench. The kid has shown decent promise in every game he's played now

[Barriecuda]

He's only what, 18, 19? He's still growing, both mentally and physically. No point rushing him through. Yes he could make a difference, yes he should get some more senior games this year, but he's one for the future and we probably aren't winning anything this year. No point having him pick up damaging injuries that set his progress back.

Wenger will slowly integrate him into the first team, but I think this is one case where AW knows what he's doing.

That being said, we DO need an alternative to the misfiring Russian if he doesn't pick up his game tenfold.

[SWLGooner]

Very encouraging performance last night but I would be wary of over-hype... It's also important not to give him a full season as some have said in order to safeguard his long-term fitness