The Conundrum of the Ox

The Ox, Credit: Independent UK

The development of a young player always takes an unknown trajectory. How he develops is a path that is not readily clear to any person even the most sagely of football personality cannot discern how he would turn out.

Such a player could blossom as a teenager, and then later suffer a dip in form in his early twenties before he manages to pick up later in his mid to late twenties.

When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Arsenal in the summer of 2011 from Southampton in a fee in the region of £15 million as a raw 17 year old, very few persons even Arsene Wenger that has a reputation with young players could have ascertain how is transition from league one to the Premier League would be. He made his debut in the 8-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in August, 2011.

Despite going on to make over a 100 appearances for Arsenal, he has not lived up to the hype that greeted his arrival almost five years ago. If anything his development has stunted for the past few seasons. Some of his best performances came when he was still a teenager, but he has struggled to maintain any semblance of consistency.

Arguably his best and most complete performance for the club came in the Champions League round of 16 second leg tie against AC Milan at the Emirates in March, 2012. He was deployed in central midfield where he orchestrated and dictated play. His solid performance that night earned Arsenal a 3-0 win, but they crashed out 4-3 on aggregate after they lost 4-0 in the first leg at the San Siro.

If a player's best performance since he joined a club is nearly four years ago, then it is easy to see that such a player is struggling.

Another moment that showed his ability was when he was deployed again in central midfield against Crystal Palace at the Emirates in February, 2014, after Arsenal suffered several injuries in that position; he scored two goals to earn Arsenal all three points on the day.

His bright side has been fleeting, but his poor display has become a common feature. It is clear that he is not developing to match his talent which is not in doubt.

He showed great promise in the first half of the 2014/2015 season where he did not miss a game for five months as the signing of Alexis Sanchez galvanised and had a positive influence on him, something he spoke repeatedly of at the time. His performances meant he was Arsene Wenger's preferred choice in the right side of midfield, he capped what was a bright few months that season with the equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates in November, 2014 in a match that ended 1-1, his growing influence was depicted when he got injured, and several Arsenal fans were distraught at his injury. After returning from injury that season, he failed to match the height he had set for himself, but he still got an assist in the FA Cup final after he came on as substitute.

As a result of his bright sparkles which were dimmed by injury last season, it was natural that he was earmarked as one of the players that would have a breakthrough season this time around.

And he seemed to leave up to that billing when he scored a brilliant goal to win Arsenal the Community Shield at the expense of Chelsea at Wembley in August, 2015.

He was rewarded with a start against West Ham in the opening weekend of the Premier League, but he was culpable for the second goal the Hammers scored in a 2-0 defeat.

His knack for losing possession in dangerous areas is a weakness in his game that has continued to plague him. And most of his give away have led to goals for the opposition. (The third goal Monaco scored at the Emirates is a key example)

So far this season, he has not showed any sign that he is about to recapture any sort of form. He was disappointing when he started against Bournemouth and Newcastle United. His start against Bournemouth was understandable because of Arsene Wenger's needed to rotate as the match came 48 hours after the defeat to Southampton. But his start against Newcastle did not go down well with some of Arsenal persuasion, as several preferred Joe Campbell to him. And yet again he had a poor match with most of his crosses failing to find a teammate, and others ended up as throw in for the Magpies. It was no surprise that Joe Campbell did more in 25 minutes to affect the match positively than the 65 minutes he had going by the present form of both players.

Now that there is a sudden preference for Joe Campbell over Oxlade-Chamberlain by some Arsenal faithful, it only shows how far he has fallen in the estimation of many because of his poor displays.

By July 2016, he would have spent five years at Arsenal, and he would be 23 in August. He cannot claim to be a young player anymore, even though technically he is still young in football terms.

The time has come for him to start leaving up to the expectations and early promise he showed. His end product needs to improve and his record in front of goal is very poor, as his finishing could do with more polishing.

The contrast with the aforementioned Joe Campbell cannot be more stack, the Costa Rican has risen from the ashes to become an important player at the club after seizing his chance following the injuries that has affected key players. It can easily be said that he is now ahead of Oxlade-Chamberlain in the pecking order at the club.

However despite his struggles, what he has going for him is that he has a manager in Arsene Wenger that has a record of standing by players irrespective of the situation they are going through whether its injuries or lack of form.

Yet several players that Arsene Wenger has stood by over the years have showed glimpses of their abilities to give observers that they may be returning to form, but so far the Ox has not showed such in his performances this season.

For a player that was first choice in the first half of last season, now when everybody is fit he might not make the squad, which shows how far he has fallen.

The onus is on him to rediscover his form back, and it can only come through hard work on the training ground. He can borrow a leave from Joe Campbell who has turned his form around to force himself into Arsene Wenger's plans after being on the verge of leaving the club in the summer.

The ball is in the Ox court.