Arsenal: Should Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Start Ahead of Gervinho at Left Wing?

It would seem the cruelest of happenstances: By serving your country in your continent's premier international competition (and making the semifinals at that!), you come to lose what had become a consistent spot in your club's first-choice starting XI.

The hazards of football, I guess.

It is not so much that Gervinho, the player in question currently away with Cote d'Ivoire at the African Cup of Nationas, lacks the chops to start for Arsenal at the moment; rather, upon his return to the side in a few weeks' time, he may just find his path to the left wing blocked by the teenage sensation that is sweeping throughout England.

No, it's not Justin Bieber.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been riding a torrential wave of good form over the past month that has seen him become the toast of English football.

Tasked with making his first Premier League start against Manchester United nearly three weeks ago now, he didn't flinch, launching upon relentless attacks on the left wing throughout the match. When he's played this season, he's been excellent; his current form only cements his overall worth as a footballer.

Against Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round, he again wowed with his attacking intent and ability to link up play.

That rapidly burgeoning vein of form was only strengthened against Bolton Wanderers one week ago, when Oxlade-Chamberlain again showcased his uncanny ability to pick out dangerous passes in the attacking third along with 20/20 vision for goal, something that has been sorely lacking in the Arsenal outfit outside of a certain Van Persie fellow.

That crescendo that Oxlade-Chamberlain had been building toward for weeks, then, came this past Saturday against Blackburn, where the former Southampton man ran riot around a hapless Rovers defense.

Yet the accomplishment of scoring his first two league goals for Arsenal, while considerable, pales in comparison to his long-term potential for the club. The rest of this season will be just the beginning in what looks to be a long and prosperous career.

There is an intelligence in Oxlade-Chamberlain's attacking play and a thoroughness in his ability as a player that makes him unique.

Whether that footballing acumen come in the guise of a well-weighted through ball, a dangerous run  in behind the defense (like we saw before his first goal against Blackburn) or his ravenous appetite for trying his luck from distance, the teenager is proving to be just the antidote to Arsenal's dearth of goalscoring outside of Van Persie's metronomic contributions.

Even Arsene Wenger has conceded that apart from Van Persie's rampant form this season (the Dutchman has 27 goals in 27 appearances, good for 44 percent of the team's total output), there has been a decided lack of accompaniment to No. 10's personal symphony of a season.

"Yes, that was a problem I faced in all the press conferences at the start of the season," Wenger said in the Arsenal.com article.

"If [Van Persie] doesn't score, who scores, you know? It was right, I couldn't deny that. But I always felt that if you look at our numbers the trio of Gervinho, Walcott and Van Persie were involved in all the goals so they are more the providers because we play with two wingers. But the wingers can score as well, like today. It is something that is needed and we need some more goals from midfield as well."

The "wingers who scored today" was a direct reference to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Theo Walcott did his part in cutting through the Blackburn defense like a knife through hot butter, chipping in three assists—including a couple brilliant deliveries from the right wing for Van Persie to tap in (2', 38').

But despite Walcott's impressive display, there is a feeling that in the long run he will be supplanted by the younger Oxlade-Chamberlain, who simply seems to possess a more dynamic and consistent overall game. For now, however, the two look perfectly functional in tandem.

Could Wenger have been tipping his hand in regards to his future starting lineup by referencing "the wingers who scored today?" With Oxlade-Chamberlain scoring and Walcott providing, Arsenal's attack could become a whole lot more dangerous.

And it doesn't hurt that Oxlade-Chamberlain likely serves as Walcott's most direct competitor for the starting job at right wing for the English national team. Both will be chomping at the bit to prove their mettle for whomever the new England boss proves to be.

The prospect of those two at their most competitive—both seeking to put their best feet forward on a match-by-match basis during the season's run-in—must elicit a smile from Wenger as he looks to seal a fourth-place finish (at least) in the Premier League.

So does Gervinho, who has four goals and six assists (all competitions) this season, become the odd man out on the wing—at least for the time being?

Oxlade-Chamberlain's most effective position is on the right (although he has a penchant for drifting centrally to help build attacks, much in the way we saw Samir Nasri do last season when he was positioned on the left wing). But it does look like for the time being, Wenger prefers him out on the left—Gervinho's normal role.

The Ivorian international has often looked as if the famous pace and power of the English Premier League is a bit much for him from time to time. Gervinho has a maddening penchant for producing sublime bits of attacking play on the wing only to scuff his final delivery (whether it be a shot or pass).

Improved consistency will likely come with time; it does take a while for players to adapt to new leagues, and the jump from Ligue 1 to the EPL is no short step—just ask Laurent Koscielny, who struggled to find his feet during 2010-11 after moving from FC Lorient.

Gervinho has shown an ability to strike a partnership with Van Persie as well, providing the Dutchman with assists as well this season. But that may not be enough at the moment.

Unfortunately, it comes down to this ruthless, but altogether fair, fact. Like the timeless plot line in any romantic novel, Gervinho simply wasn't around when the club desperately needed another attacking option.

In that harrowing month of January, amidst the three consecutive league losses, a would-be champions emerged. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who by all accounts looks like the team's second-most dangerous attacker behind Van Persie, has made his case to be a regular starter. He has played a crucial role in Arsenal's recent resurgence.

With that in mind, who could deny him the starting spot?