Arsene Wenger Says Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Leaving Would Cause 'Big Damage'

Arsene Wenger says letting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain leave Arsenal would cause "big damage" to the Premier League club.

The England midfielder's contract runs out in 2018, and Gunners manager Wenger believes it's important to keep the 23-year-old playmaker, per Paul Doyle of the Guardian: "I personally think it's vital that Chamberlain stays at Arsenal. We bought him when he was very young and built him up. He has a great mentality and a good football brain, and it would be big damage for us to lose this kind of player."

Wenger also thinks Arsenal must retain all the members of their so-called "British core," including midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, per Doyle: "We have to keep them all. Ramsey, Chamberlain, Wilshere, Gibbs. All these players we have to make decisions and manage to keep them together."

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Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Ramsey and full-backs Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson all inked lengthy deals with the Gunners back in 2012. As a core of youthful, homegrown talents they were expected to herald a bright new chapter in Arsenal's history.

In fact, a picture of the group even adorned the outside of the Emirates Stadium in time for the start of the 2013/14 season. However, things haven't worked out that way since, and Wenger's continued faith in the struggling group has sometimes been difficult to fathom, especially when there are other gifted young players on the books, including Alex Iwobi and Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Injuries have continued to play havoc with the development of Ramsey and Wilshere. The latter was even sent on loan to Bournemouth this season rather than given the chance to earn more playing time at Arsenal.

Injuries have also been a problem for Oxlade-Chamberlain. Yet his biggest issue has been finding a position to suit his talents.

The ex-Southampton prospect has been played on the wing, but he has looked more accomplished when playing through the middle. It's where he's featured at times this season, looking particularly impressive in the FA Cup.

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Wenger made it clear a central role is where he envisages Oxlade-Chamberlain playing in the long term:

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That’s always what I’ve had in mind. I’ve played him there a few years ago and I think he did well. He’s offensive and you can feel as well that he’s a guy who can get out of pressure because of his dribbling skill. And he has penetrating skills and in midfield that is important. I find as well that sometimes on the flank he is out of the way. In the middle he’s more focused, he needs to be involved in the game.

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Giving Oxlade-Chamberlain a natural position may be the key to convincing him to stay, although Doyle noted how Premier League rivals Liverpool retain an interest.

If Oxlade-Chamberlain and the "British Core" stay, how quickly they finally reach their potential will determine how under-pressure Wenger—whose contract expires this summer, but he is expected to re-sign, per the Daily Star's Paul Hetherington—fares.

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