The Oxlade-Chamberlain Express is Here

Arsenal signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for £12m and the youngster featured sparingly for the Gunners in the early part of his career. He made his Premier League debut for Arsenal in that resounding 8-2 thrashing in the hands of Manchester United but he strutted his stuff on his first Carling Cup outing (against Shrewsbury) with a goal thereby making an instant impact.

The Carling Cup was used as a  breeding ground for the Ox and he terrorized defenses in the competition, putting up stellar performances against Bolton and Manchester City.

Arsene Wenger clearly had high hopes for the lad ahead of the new year, and he predicted that 2012 will be the year of the Ox,

“In 2012, at the beginning of the year, he will play games. Alex is a talented boy, it is all there – he just needs that toughness in the game and because every game for us is so tight.”

“At Aston Villa last week, again, I could have brought him on and you have the hesitation to do it – but you do not want him to be a little bit over-ruled by the intensity of the game.”

“He is ready to play. Alex is just missing that experience at the top level. You have to throw him a few games.”

The Ox scored a well-taken goal in his Champions League debut against Olympiakos but he had to wait a while to make his mark in the Premier League. He didn’t have much time to make an impact against Swansea but his withdrawal for Andrey Arshavin in the match against Manchester United caused an uprising amongst the same fans that criticized the manager for signing a relatively unknown youngster for £12m.

Arsenal hosted Blackburn after going through a very poor run of form in January, so a swift response was needed. The Gunners ran riot against Steve Kean’s side with the red-hot Robin van Persie bagging a hat-trick, the Ox with a brace while Mikel Arteta and King Thierry Henry completed the rout.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance against Blackburn certainly caught the eye and reports are emanating that he had impressed Fabio Capello enough to be selected in for his maiden England call-up that faced the Netherlands later that month. At the end of a productive season that saw the Ox make 26 appearances, score four goals and supply three assists, he was called up by Roy Hodgson to represent England in the European Championships.

The Ox in action against France

After putting up a good performance in England’s curtain raiser against France, the Ox watched from the dugout as Ashley Young continued to disappoint before compounding his personal misery with a penalty miss against Italy. As expected, England bowed out of a penalty shoot-out but unlike previous tournaments, the expectation on the shoulders on the Three Lions wasn’t as huge as before.

Arsenal fans should be excited about the prospect of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in England’s up-coming World Cup qualifiers, for the winger is reportedly set for a free role against Moldova and Ukraine in the coming week. The winger is currently training with England and, after speaking at an FA press conference on Tuesday, it appears that the youngster is ready to prove himself once more in a white shirt.

“We will be looking to push every game and approach it in the same way. To have a coach that lets you express yourself in the right areas of the pitch is massive, and he is also a very good man.”

The idea of Oxlade-Chamberlain expressing himself on a football pitch is something that has petrified many opposition defences since his arrival to the Premier League just 12 months ago. The 19-year-old’s pace and ability to find a pass has already transformed him into an Arsenal regular and, should he continue his fine progression up the Gunners ranks, Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a starter in the England XI come next summer.

If he to be believed, boss, Roy Hodgson, is on the verge of developing this England attack into a more cutthroat, expressive unit. Oxlade-Chamberlain could start on the left with two strikers up front – probably Jermain Defoe and Ashley Young – while James Milner takes up the right.

If England are to play with two strikers and two wingers, Oxlade-Chamberlain has the chance to express himself by forcing his speed and power upon a sat-back Moldova defence. There will be nothing to stop him bombing forward at every opportunity to feed two poaching strikers in the middle.

This Moldova fixture could turn into a typical Barclays Premier League match at the Emirates, where away teams defend for their lives with no intention of going forward, a situation perfect for Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will push his opposition further and further back until it is time to find that intricate pass.

Expression is the key word to England’s new regime, and while Hodgson has regimented the defence over the past six months, what we saw at the European Championships was a team far more confident in going forward. Theo Walcott’s surprised expression when he scored against Sweden tells it all: individual freedom in the England side is something we have lacked for years, a fact never more evident than in results and scores from the last decade.

The old hags of the English squad are slowly fading away and the prospect of seeing the Ox become an England regular is hugely encouraging.

Like the classic case of Wojciech Szczesny usurping Lukasz Fabianski in both club and country, the odds of the Ox usurping Theo Walcott is becoming a reality – if it hasn’t happened already.

Time will tell.

With no Arsenal football to switch my focus to this weekend, I’ll be keeping half an eye on every Gunner representing his nation.

A quick favor guys, the Nigerian Blog Awards for 2012 is coming up soon, and its currently in its nomination phase. Please visit the site and complete the form by entering the address of your favourite blogs in the box corresponding to the appropriate category, keeping the following guidelines in mind:

1. Only one blog can be nominated for each category.
2. Enter the website address of the blog rather than the blog name.

I have a few blogs that I’d like to nominate, if you don’t mind of course.

For Best Book, Poetry or Writing blog, These are not Memoirs is worthy of your nominations. http://vixenpixie.wordpress.com/

For Best Collaborative or Group blog, you can’t look no further than Memoirs of a Gooner, an Arsenal blog marshalled by three special Gooners, Yemi Jr, Escobar and Punkenstein. http://www.goonermemoirs.com/

For best Topical blog, Movie Reviews should get your vote, because it’s so worth it. http://dmoviereview.wordpress.com/

And finally, for best Sports blog, I’d be honored if you nominate your daily Arsenal digest, Gooner Daily. http://goonerdaily.wordpress.com/

Thanks in anticipation of your nominations.

Sayonara

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Euro Gunner Watch: A Peripheral Ox Makes no Impact against France

This promised to be one of the spectacles to watch in the tournament but I must say that I wasn’t too impressed with the overall play. The individual performances of some players stood out though.

I quoted a few days ago that Les Bleus are my team for this tourney but despite the fact that they were playing against the nation that houses my favorite club, I was still rooting for them.

Laurent Blanc started with Hugo Lloris in goal and a backline that was composed of Debuchy, Mexes, Rami and Monsieur Tuck-in.

Despite having the best of seasons, Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny hasn’t been able to break into the first team. However, his boss had something to say about it:

“We’ve got two big players in central defence and I hope they play very well tomorrow, Koscielny has had a very good season with Arsenal but, as you know, you need experience at centre-back and players that work together in terms of instinct.”

Adil Rami and Phillippe Mexes are essential pieces in the French jigsaw puzzle, so Kos the Boss has to bide his time and hope for the best.

The French midfield was still short of the brilliance and quality of Yann M’Vila, so Alou Diarra came in his stead. He was supported by Yohan Cabaye and $amir Na$ri. Franck Ribery, Florent Malouda and Karim Karim complete the front three.

England on the other hand, has assembled a squad with no high expectations placed on them. Injuries and some “selections” have taken their toll on the Three Lions but Woy Hodgson still had to select 11 soldiers for the Battle against France.

The impressive Joe Hart was the custodian between the sticks and he was protected by Glen Johnson, that scarred chap, the ex-girlfriend shagger and Ca$hley Cuntly Cole.

Steven Gerrard and Scotty Parker manned the middle of the park while James Milner and our Ox provided wit on the flanks. Ashley Young played in the hole behind Danny Welbeck.

England had the first clear-cut chance at goal but James Milner made a glorious mess of things after evading Lloris to hit his effort wide with a goal gaping at him. Yohan Cabaye stung Hart’s hands with a shot that had a lot of bounce on it.

The deadlock was broken when Joleon Lescott got on the end of an inch-perfect cross from Steven G. It was a very strong header and Lloris had no chance in Hell to save it from such a close range.

Alou Diarra also attempted a header reminiscent of the header made by Lescott but Hart was on hand to make a magnificent reflex save. Diarra used his frame well to have a second bite at the cherry but he nodded his effort wide this time.

Despite Hart’s goalkeeping heriocs, Ribery flicked the ball for Na$ri and the maestro fired a sleek shot that beat Hart on his near post.

The second half wasn’t thrilling but there were a few glimpses of attacking football here and there. Benzema executed a neat one-two with Na$ri but his well-struck shot was saved by Hart.

On the other end, Johnson made a mazy run but he killed an unfortunate bird with his shot afterwards. At least, he didn’t create a new planet like Sergio Ramos.

After a somewhat disappointing outing on the left wing, the Ox was replaced by that midget, Jermaine Defoe. To add to Arsenal’s woes, Theo Walcott replaced Welbeck with minutes to spare.

So much for today’s Euro Gunner Watch.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gets a rating of 6.0 for his ineffectual performance. Maybe he might have been better off the bench.

Theo Walcott, of course, gets no rating.

Elsewhere, an Andriy Shevchenko inspired win for Ukraine against Sweden has spiced things up in the group.

That’s today’s bit.

Sayonara

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Set For an England Call-Up and More on King Thierry Henry

A star in the making

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been riding on a high following his string of impressive performances and he has impressed his manager, his team mates and most importantly, the fans.

The youngster was signed in the summer but the manager introduced him slowly into first team action and used the Carling Cup as a breeding ground for the Ox, as he’s passionately called. Alex hit the ground running with a stunning effort against Shrewsbury Town before putting up stellar performances against Bolton and Manchester City.

He also scored a well-taken goal in his Champions League debut against Olympiakos but he had to wait a while to make his mark in the Premier League. He didn’t have much time to make an impact against Swansea but his withdrawal for Andrey Arshavin in the match against Manchester United caused an uprising amongst the same fans that criticized the manager for signing a relatively unknown youngster for £12m.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance against Blackburn certainly caught the eye and reports are emanating that he has impressed Fabio Capello enough to be selected in the squad that will face the Netherlands on the 29th of February, 2012.   The Ox is a versatile winger that’s adept on both flanks but he has been operating from the left when playing alongside fellow speed merchant Theo Walcott.

England’s pre-dominant left wingers Stewart Downing and Ashley Young have struggled for form and fitness this season so the Ox should be in line to stake a claim for a starting berth in the Three Lions with half an eye on the European Championships coming up this summer.

The Gunners came into the party when Arsenal ran riot against Blackburn but King Thierry Henry had the icing on the cake from a deflected effort following a Robin van Persie pass. Arsenal’s captain had sealed a magnificent hat-trick but he chose to feed Henry instead of going for a killer fourth. Van Persie has revealed that he wanted Henry to score:

“It was great because I wanted him to score. He scored a fantastic goal in the FA Cup but I wanted him to score in the Premier League as well. Every single touch I had I was looking for him. I wanted to play him in.”

“And with the last kick of the match, it just happened. The only thing on my mind was passing to Thierry. I wanted him to score and he did.” 

Robin van Persie’s hat-trick was enough for him to displace the great Dennis Bergkamp in the Arsenal all-time top scorer’s list but Thierry Henry just increased his Arsenal tally to 228 goals, which is almost two times van Persie’s current tally for Arsenal with stands at 123 goals.

Henry was initially scheduled to spend just six weeks at Arsenal with his final game being the Champions League fixture against AC Milan next week Wednesday. Arsene Wenger is gearing up talks with his current employers New York Red Bulls over an extension that would see him stay at the club till the end of the month.

Henry’s presence at the club has been a big plus since his arrival on and off the pitch and it’s also believed that he has been the secret behind Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s blistering form in recent weeks.

In other Arsenal related news, Arsenal is planning to tour the Far East this summer before coming over to Nigeria. The media Vultures have also reported that the club is interested in Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira and there are plans to sign Schalke 04′s Jefferson Farfan on a free transfer next season.

Sayonara.

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Good News on Jack Wilshere, 2012 the Year of the Ox and Wolves Preview

Can he break Alan Shearer's record today?

2011 will be a year that will fill Gooners with mixed emotions because it had it all but like every other Arsenal fan, I look forward to 2012 with hope and optimism for the foreseeable future.

Jack Wilshere is certainly a player that had a great start in 2011 and his exploits on the pitch won him the PFA Young Player of the Year award in April. An ankle injury suffered during the preseason has kept Wilshere out of action for the remainder of the year but we’ve received good news that he’ll start running this week.

Wilshere’s return to full fitness will be a massive boost to Arsene Wenger as he plans to win the title amongst other honors in 2012. Arsenal has a very realistic chance of winning the FA Cup while a win over AC Milan in the Champions League first knockout round will go a long way to determine if Arsene Wenger’s men are good enough to win the biggest prize of them all.

FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and FC Bayern are still in the competition so you’ll have to be one Hell of an optimist if you believe that Arsenal is good enough to win the Champions League.

Arsenal signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for £12m and the youngster has featured sparingly for the Gunners. He strutted his stuff on his debut with a goal thereby making an instant impact and he has terrorized defenses in the Carling Cup.With Gervinho flying to Africa pretty soon coupled with Andrey Arshavin’s putrid performances, the fans have called on Arsene Wenger to have more of the Ox.

Arsene Wenger has hinted that 2012 will be the year of the Ox:

“In 2012, at the beginning of the year, he will play games. Alex is a talented boy, it is all there – he just needs that toughness in the game and because every game for us is so tight.”

“At Aston Villa last week, again, I could have brought him on and you have the hesitation to do it – but you do not want him to be a little bit over-ruled by the intensity of the game.”

“He is ready to play. Alex is just missing that experience at the top level. You have to throw him a few games.”

I’ve seen this bloke play and this confidence levels can be compared to Wojciech Szczesny in goal. He’s never afraid to take on his man and he possesses the crossing ability of an old-fashioned English winger. Let’s not forget that he has reserves of raw pace that’s comparable to Theo Walcott.

In other Arsenal news, Arsene Wenger has lavished praise on Laurent Koscielny and Francis Coquelin will be handed a new contract in the coming weeks.

In the Boxing Day fixtures, Santa Claus brought some presents to Manchester United by giving Dimitar Berbatov new shooting boots and the Bulgarian used them to run Wigan ragged with a stunning hattrick. Santa also ensured that the festive period would be great for the Red Devils as all fellow title hopefuls dropped points.

Andre Villas-Boa Constrictor was a puzzled man yet again as Fulham came to Stamford Bridge to share the spoils with Chelsea. Liverpool also dropped points against relegation-threatened Blackburn but the biggest of them all was the goalless stalemate between West Brom and Manchester City.

Arsenal take on Wolves today knowing that a win will propel them into the promised land and they’ll stay there this time. A player that’s paying close attention to this game is Robin van Persie as he’s just two goals shy of equaling Alan Shearer’s record but Arsene Wenger is pondering resting the Dutch forward.

Wenger believes that starting three games in a week is a “big demand” for van Persie and he intends to access the situation. It’s true that van Persie isn’t Dirk Kuyt or Park Ji-Sung but Wenger should remember that van Persie doesn’t have to play all 90 minutes in each game. That’s why we have Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-Young.

Following the midweek win over Aston Villa, Arsenal has amassed 25 points from a possible 30 and it’s fair to say that the club is still in good form despite the setbacks from Fulham and Manchester City. Wolves are known for their dogged style of play and stubbornness but Mick McCarthy’s men have lost six of their last nine games.

Wolves come into this game one point and one place above the drop zone, having picked up just four points out of a possible 32 on the road this season. They are also without Jamie O’Hara (groin), Joey Craddock (hamstring), Edwards (groin), Foley (ankle).

Arsenal come into the game with all their full backs still missing in action and Vito Mannone (shoulder) is the latest member to renew his license with the injury club.

To team news, I expect Wojciech Szczesny to continue between the sticks. Make-shift full backs Thomas Vermaelen and Francis Coquelin will continue in the full back positions while Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker will continue at the heart of Arsenal’s defense.

Alex Song has served his suspension so he’ll be drafted back to the squad alongside Mikel Arteta (who’s a card away from suspension) in the middle of the park. Aaron Ramsey will be deployed in the hole behind the forward line.

Gervinho and Walcott will provide wit and pace down the flanks while the red-hot Robin van Persie will spearhead the attack.

Enjoy the game wherever you are.

Lest I forget, I’ll be honored if you can vote for me (@enigma106) in YNaija’s Birdies as the Male Tweeter to watch out for in 2012 (Next Rated) category.

Sayonara.

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A lot from Arsene Wenger and some spicy transfer speculations

Apologies for not publishing any post yesterday. I suffered from a serious case of accumulated fatigue so I engaged myself in a sleeping marathon where I broke the world record with 14 uninterrupted hours in dreamland. Even a marathon record holder like Haile Gabrieleseleselselsesiee *bites tongue* had nothing on me.

Arsenal takes on Sunderland tomorrow but Arsene Wenger has been on the spotlight for more reasons than one. A few days back, Dennis Bergkamp unveiled Van Persie’s user manual but Wenger has responded to the Dutch legend in the best possible manner:

“Robin’s best position is on the football pitch. On the right, on the left, up front, behind the striker, he can play everywhere. It’s as simple as that.”

“He is most suited to the team and adapted (and) adjusted to the quality of the other players. In this position he has scored 26 goals in 32 games so you cannot say he is in a bad position because the numbers go against you.”

“But you have to be open-minded. He can play as well behind the striker, on the right and on the left.”

“When I bought him he played on the left wing. At Feyenoord, he has been educated like that. I put him as a centre forward, because he is a quality player.”

I seriously doubt if Van Persie would have scored 18 goals in 17 games if he was playing in the hole behind the proposed main striker. Arsenal had the likes of Nicklas Bendtner and Marouane Chamakh as the only recognized strikers but they were not half as good as the Flying Dutchman. Van Persie has also said that he’s feeling better than ever and that’s a good thing for Arsene Wenger and his men.

Wenger also had a thing or two to say about Theo Walcott critics:

When you look at Theo, he’s a player who you think sometimes ‘He could have contributed more’, but then you think ‘Who scored the goal? Him’.

“Or ‘Who made the pass? It’s him’. He’s a player who is very efficient. Theo has made progress as a team player. He works very hard. He’s naturally a guy who thinks forwards and is working harder for the team.

“You feel now there is a real desire to play with others, which was his weak point a little bit.

“There is a bit of a problem in England. As much as I feel the Press protect the players in the club, they put them under too much pressure in the national team.

“Sometimes at the clubs the players are over-protected but in the national team the pressure is unbelievable. In England your expectation level is too high.

Well, that’s the media Vultures for you.

There was a point in time when they had good things to say about Walcott when Sven-Goran Eriksson put him on a plane with 22 other blokes in the summer of 2006 in Germany but they were quick to crucify the young lad by saying that he had no football brain.

That was one Hell of a punch line and I’m pretty sure that it hurt Walcott more than anyone else. He was quite decent during England’s qualifiers for the World Cup in 2010 but he was shown the boot by Capello on the day of reckoning. He scored 13 goals and laid on 10 assists last season and he has built on it this present campaign with three goals to his name so far.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a player that is in the mold of Theo Walcott and he earned a place in the spotlight after his brilliant hattrick on international duty but Wenger has said that he will not rush the Chambered Ox into action. However, he has tipped the lad for a place in next summer’s European Championships.

Fabio Hitler has told the media Vultures that he’ll hang his suit, specs and diary after the European Championships next summer but Wenger has ruled himself out of a potential move to manage the Three Lions. He has tipped Twitchy Ol’ Harry Redknapp for the move.

Arsenal has been playing well in Europe but currently in shambles in the Premier League. Wenger says that the club is under less pressure in Europe unlike England. This reminds me a bit of the 05/06 season where Arsenal almost ended the league in 5^th place but they were flying high in the Champions League.

I can never forget that amazing run of games that saw Arsenal play FC Thun, Sparta Prague and Ajax in the Group Stages before taking on Real Madrid in the first Knockout Round, Juventus in the quarterfinals, Villarreal in the semis before losing to Barcelona in the Paris 06’ finals.

The media Vultures have been on a transfer news frenzy involving Arsenal and some had the kind of spice that was needed with sugar and everything nice to form the PowerPuff Girls.

They’ve revealed that Arsenal’s proposed target from Sochaux Marvin Martin wants to see out the season with the French outfit. The short elf from France is a technically gifted footballer that has been very impressive in Ligue 1.

They’ve also linked Arsenal to Chelsea’s out-of-favor Ivorian winger that looks like Windeck’s Cabo Snoop. Is it just me or is there a slight similarity between Cabo Snoop, Asamoah Gyana nd Salomon Kalou?

They say Arsenal is also keeping tabs on the Romanian Messi called Gabriel Torje and they’ve added Arsenal to the list of clubs that want VV Venlo’s Ahmed Musa. As a Nigerian, I’ve seen Musa play and he’s not your average 18 year old player because his maturity levels are eons away from most of his peers.

They’ve reported that Arsenal is gearing up a £20m bid for Yoann Gourcuff in January and a £14m move for Fiorentina’s Juan Manuel Vargas. Other names like Q.P.R’s Adel Taarabt and Chelsea’s Alex have also been linked to Arsenal.

To wrap it all up, Arsene Wenger has revealed that he’s ready to flush out the free agent he acquired from France because P.S.G remains strongly linked with him. Chamakh hasn’t really blown our minds but Wenger of all people should know what Chamakh brings to the Arsenal squad.

Work rate, aerial ability, link-up play, team work and tenacity. Chamakh might not be the greatest of goal scorers in the club but I’ll be sad to see Marouane Chamakh leave the club. Let’s remember that he scored 10 goals in his first 21 games for Arsenal.

That’s a distant memory now.

Sayonara