Arsenal Transer News: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Signs; Great Move for Gunners

Arsenal’s third major signing, and while it might not exactly be the signing that some section of Arsenal fans might have been desiring there is no doubt signing English youngster, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain represents a great bit of business for Arsenal.

Arsenal’s official website has refused to disclose the fee, as always, but a number of sources have indicated that the fee could be around £12million deal which is a bit high for a 17-year-old.

The English winger turns 18 next Monday and has already earned plenty of plaudits for his brilliant performances last season as he scored 11 goals and popped up with nine assists. When you see how well he performed at the age of 17 for Southampton, one can understand why Wenger and the Gunners were willing to splash the cash on the youngster, widely considered one of England’s most talented and promising youngsters.

Arsenal have indicated that he will join the first team immediately and start training for the new season, indicating that he will not be loaned out. With the futures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri far from being sorted out and with Ryo Miyaichi not yet guaranteed a work permit combined with the high likelihood of Arsenal’s midfielders suffering injuries, Chamberlain will go a long way in adding depth.

While he is definitely not ready for first time action, he is a homegrown talent and will help in providing valuable depth to the squad and could play a crucial role in Arsenal’s Carling Cup and FA Cup efforts.

Arsene Wenger was all praise for the English winger and described him as a highly-versatile player.

Now, there will be some who will criticize Wenger for completing this signing. The argument made will be that Arsenal need defensive reinforcements ahead of the start of the signing and with Squillaci proving to be no better than a headless chicken combined with the injury setbacks to Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal desperately require a defensive player, and a number of players including Phil Jagielka, Christopher Samba and Gary Cahill have been linked with a move to the Gunners.

Wenger’s critics will note that with Arsenal failing to win trophies, Arsenal need experienced campaigners and not more youngsters. But what they fail to realize is that Arsenal needs to find the perfect balance between the two, and he has indicated that he will sign the super quality players that can take Arsenal to the next level.

I think that fans should have absolutely no problem with Wenger signing youngsters especially when they are so talented as long as he signs the right players who can win Arsenal trophies.

Chamberlain is too young to make an instant impact, but he will be an invaluable addition to the Arsenal squad and adds to the growing list of supremely talented young stars at Arsenal.

Along with Chamberlain, Arsenal is packed with English youngsters including the likes of Kyle Bartley, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs, Benik Afobe, all players with a bright future ahead of them.

Usually, Wenger is known to sign youngsters from outside England with Spain and France being his favorite hunting grounds. But this summer, both youngsters captured by the Gunners, Carl Jenkinson and Chamberlain are English. Jenkinson can however play for Finland.

While it might be a little unfair to make such a broad categorization, English players are known to show far much more loyalty, in England than foreign players, who have the lure of the return to the native land.

Adding such supremely talented English youngsters ensure that the Gunners have a next wave of mega superstars at the club and Chamberlain is one of them.

In my opinion, what makes this capture all the more interesting is that there were a host of other clubs interested in signing him including Liverpool, and yet, he chose Arsenal.

These days with Arsenal being the centre of immense criticism, many have questioned Arsenal’s ability to attract top quality talent, and while signing a teenage will do little to change their opinion, it still shows that playing for Arsenal is a dream for several youngsters. Also a talent like him, it is better to sign him than let him to go to your rivals.

It will be interesting to see how Arsenal use him this season. Wenger has indicated that he would like to keep Miyaichi as well. In such a scenario, it will be tough for both to get playing time. While Arsenal are far from certain to keep Nasri, Wenger has indicated that he might be tempted to sign replacements.

Nevertheless, I feel that both the youngsters are ready to play for the first team. Last year, Wenger played a team that was both young and experienced in the Carling Cup, and if he does the same, then the two of them will get playing time in the cup competitions.

But most importantly, Chamberlain adds depth to the squad. Only 18, maybe, but his performances have indicated that he performs with far more maturity than one might expect from a player of his age. Having depth in the squad is never a bad thing especially since he doesn’t need to be registered in the 25 man squad.

Chamberlain is a fantastic prospect not just for Arsenal but also for the English team. At Arsenal, he will get the opportunity to see players like Tomas Rosicky, Andrei Arshavin perform and while some may consider these players past their prime, they are extremely experienced players and the opportunity to work along with the stars of Arsenal, is a great bonus in his career development.

Chamberlain is predominantly a winger and can play across both wings. He is adept at playing in all positions across the midfield, and this versatility will help him get playing time this season. Blessed with fantastic pace and a mazy dribbler, he has all the qualities to make it big. He uses his pace and trickery to get into good positions.

He possesses a good shot, and that is evident from his 11 goals, some of which were real belters. I see him playing in a wide position for the Gunners from where he will use his pace and trickery to cut inside and either tee in the crosses or go for goal. He looks to be a decent crosser of the ball—a quality severely lacking at Arsenal.

Some have likened him to Theo Walcott, but I believe the two are different players. Although the two play in the wings, Walcott prefers to drift inwards to receive the ball and harbors hopes of becoming a central striker while Chamberlain drifts in with the ball in his feet.

Just imagine the prospect of Chamberlain, Walcott and Miyaichi, in the same lineup, and with all that speed, they can give defenses plenty of headaches.

But in terms of pace, he is very much the next Walcott as he used his blistering pace to great effect in League Two.

While playing in the Premier League, is a totally different challenge and a far more difficult one, there is no doubt in my mind that he will make it big.

And if playing time is indeed a problem, Arsenal can loan him out whenever they want. I am sure that there will be plenty of teams willing to entertain this supremely talented player.

Chamberlain has followed in the footsteps of Theo Walcott to Arsenal. While Walcott’s career at Arsenal got off to a slow start, it has slowly picked up and he is thriving under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal have completed the signing of Chamberlain just as news of another supremely talented youngster, Romelu Lukaku, was undergoing a medical. Premiership fans will be the winners as they get to see these two fantastic prospects thrive in the league.