Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 3 Reasons He Can Spur Arsenal to Glory

The former Southampton star, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, impressed in his first two starts for the North London side, scoring twice in two appearances. These appearances were ( in order), a 3-1 home win to Shrewsbury in the League Cup, and another home win, 2-1, at home to Olympiacos.

Oxlade-Chamberlain showed glimpses of his lightning pace in these matches, evoking the quality that had journalists comparing him to current Arsenal winger Theo Walcott.

Most importantly, however, were the psychological effects of Chamberlain's performances. Of late, Arsenal have been praised for fielding a young side, and generally investing in youth. Even more recently, this praise has stopped. This seems natural, considering Arsenal's poor run of results. There seemed to be a growing section of Arsenal fans questioning Wenger's youth policy.

Not any more. Chamberlain is a perfect mascot for the "Arsenal youth" method. His excellence in an Arsenal shirt caps an underlying resurgence of Arsenal "young" players among the dismal results. The likes of Frimpong, Coquelin and Miyaichi have been admirably seamless in their transition to the Arsenal first team squad.

Ability

Chamberlain was immense in the Shrewsbury game. In both the contextual and the onomatopoeic sense. His sturdy build and natural strength allowed him to muscle players off the ball. Additionally, Chamberlain provided the acceleration over short distances that was expected of the "next Theo Walcott," the tag referring to the current Arsenal winger's famed explosive pace.

What separates him from Walcott, however, is his skill on the ball. He jinked and swerved with ease and in both games he drifted into the middle, pacing the game with his accurate passing. Also, Chamberlain was Ljungberg-esque in his shooting ability. He netted two wonderful efforts against Shrewsbury and Olympiacos, one of which was off-balance.

Symbolic Value

Oxlade-Chamberlain signifies everything about Arsenal's youth policy that is good; buy them young, buy players who are skillful and buy them more cheaply than other club's have.

Chamberlain has exceeded all expectations with his introduction into the first team, and into the Champions League. This will be heartening for Arsene Wenger's fans, as a pointer that Arsenal policy is not always misplaced.

Tactical Chemistry

Arsenal's formation is a 4-2-3-1, reverting to a 4-3-3 at times. They play a false nine in the form of Robin Van Persie up front, with Gervinho, a creative winger who likes to come inside and assist play, and Theo Walcott, an inside forward.

Walcott's main asset is his blistering pace. Therefore, Robin Van Persie drops back to assist the midfield and thread through balls in for Walcott or to run on to and score.

In this fashion, Arsenal's front three is skewed. Walcott plays ahead of Gervinho, who looks to create play in behind the Dutchman.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who cuts inside and gets involved in the play, would be a better choice for Arsenal's attack. He also provides an English directness which Walcott Lacks. He is adept at the long shot as well as the cross.