Arsenal Transfer News: West Ham Boss David Gold Opens Up on Reece Oxford Rumours

It's been revealed that Arsenal were unsuccessful in their bid to sign up-and-coming West Ham United defender Reece Oxford this past summer.

According to Hammers co-chairman David Gold, the Gunners rivalled Manchester City and Chelsea to land the 16-year-old, who ultimately ended up staying put at Upton Park:

Oxford burst onto the Premier League scene this season after starring in a 2-0 defeat of the Gunners in Week 1, making three appearances for West Ham this term.

Terry Westley serves as West Ham's academy director and recently told the Independent's Sam Wallace just how much faith the club is placing in their teenage prospect to develop into a star:

"

David Gold has said Reece can become a West Ham legend and that is what this place needs. We need a catalyst to change it. That is why the determination to keep him at 16 was so great. The value of a 16-year-old now is greater than a second-year pro.

As a club we already had the player. Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal wanted him and the value was ridiculous. We have to give them so much so young just to keep them. You haven’t got a choice.

"

Wallace has also reported on the "elite education" Oxford is receiving at Upton Park, a setting largely regarded as a prolific breeding ground for young English talent.

Arsenal may therefore find it difficult to turn the Edmonton native away from his current landscape, even though a more lucrative offer from the Emirates Stadium may hold its own advantages.

The starlet is already a firm fixture in the England youth setup, having made 17 appearances for the national team's under-17 side and now making moves with the under-18 team.

Following Oxford's breakout performance against the Gunners at the start of this season, Hammers manager Slaven Bilic told Sky Sports his prodigious talent would remain grounded and prevented from developing an ego:

That aspect of the youngster's development will be crucial if he is to fulfil the potential that's so evidently there, lest he become slack in his pursuit of Premier League greatness.

One can see why the Gunners would be interested in Oxford, a centre-back who operated so fluently in defensive midfield during his trip to the Emirates Stadium in August.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

With Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini all on the wrong side of 30, Arsene Wenger will have a certain desire to see that central area between defence and midfield reinforced with younger talent.

For now, West Ham have succeeded in hanging onto a player who could sit at the crest of England's next generation, but it's unlikely young Oxford's name has appeared in the transfer headlines for the last time.