EPL 2016/17: Arsene Wenger wants Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to stay at Arsenal and sign a new contract
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has stated that he wants Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to stay back at the club – a plea that comes after the 23-year-old was linked with moves away from the Emirates with Chelsea, Manchester United and Southampton all interested in acquiring his services.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has had a steady run of form this season and has already made twenty-one appearances for the club in all competitions. With six goals and six assists to his name – including that lovely lob for Mesut Ozil to put away against Stoke City – he’s having his best season with the club yet.
And his manager wants him to stay at the club and shun the other offers. “I want Oxlade-Chamberlain to stay at the club,” the Frenchman said. “I bought him at a very young age and I think he is developing well.
“This season he is making steps, he is moving forward and overall when you invest so much time and work and the player has as well (you want him to stay). I think the player loves it here. He is integrated with the qualities we want him to have and overall I want him to stay.”
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Having played steadily this season, Wenger believes the only reason the Ox wasn’t able to replicate this kind of form in previous seasons was because of where he plays. “I believe Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s career, like Theo Walcott’s career, has been stopped many times by injuries,” Wenger added. “He had many, many setbacks. I think it’s the first season where he has the consistency of presence.
Alex is much more efficient, says Wenger
“(Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott) play in positions where the physical demands are maybe higher than in any other position. On the flanks today, you need to come up and down, you need to defend, you need to be dangerous going forward. So you need to find the level of a good balance and it demands a little bit of experience,” the Frenchman continued.
“Alex is much more efficient going forward now. He can provide - he provided a good final ball for Ozil on Saturday, and he can score goals himself. That’s what you want from him,” Wenger concluded.
Chelsea, Manchester United and the Ox’s former club, Southampton, are all interested in signing him in the summer given he’s yet to extend his deal with the Gunners. Like Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, the 23-year-old’s contract runs out at the end of next season.