Oxlade-Chamberlain's Best Position

As we all know, we have one of the brightest prospects in European football in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

However, a bit of a question mark is what his strongest position actually is, or where he will eventually consistently play.

IMO, he has the attributes to excel as a winger or a central attacking midfielder, below I've listed his respective attributes in accordance to the position he may play;

Winger attributes:
-Great speed and acceleration
-Tricky dribbling
-Good delivery, i.e- crossing
-Opens up the pitch
-Unpredictability
-Has the ability to go on the outside and link up seamlessly in the middle of the park

CAM attributes:
-Quality passer, with a brilliant range of passing
-Good vision
-Darting runs
-Quick decision making
-Rocket shot
-Ability to free up space for others and bring them into play

Here are a couple of compilation videos of him, both with us and during his time at The Saints;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WljuJS-kq8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUV6gtio ... ure=fvwrel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personally, I prefer the Ox out wide, I think everything is in place for him to be one of Europe's top wingers for years to come. But I'm interested in seeing what everyone else feels his strongest position is, feel free to offer opinions .

I want him to take Rosicky's number 7 jersey in the next 1 or 2 years. The kid will be immense.

Boss said he's playing through the middle - I guess we'll see some of that. But I agree he has them both, and the main thing is that we have many options with this (real options, not like some forced adaptations we've seen in the past).
That also means it depends not only on him, but on how other do (Cazorla for one), injuries, opposition, etc.

For now I think he's still a bit better on the flanks - but we have seen him do brilliantly in the center on occasion.
Gonna be interesting to see how he develops this year. He'll have a much bigger role than last year, that's for sure (and I think he's ready).

Wenger listed him as a midfielder in todays press conference, and he played there in all the preseason games I've seen.

I've got to say I want him to develop out wide. He's got great pace, dribbling and has an eye for goal. He's got what it takes to become a fantastic wide forward that will bang in the goals for us. It must be me, but whenever I watch him in midfield I just don't see all his strengths being utilized.

Our squad isn't really blessed out wide either. We have a potentially world class wide man, not many of those around and I hope we see him there.

Going by Wenger's statement in today's presser it seemed adamant that'll he will be used in one of the two ACM options this season. Fortunately for us he's so versatile and intelligent he can be used in any attacking position barr no.9. Like mentioned above he's virtually Rosickys replacment in the future. Barring injuries I think he'll be used as a super-sub winger in league and get starts at CM in the cups.

He played CM for Southampton for most of his career there, only moving to the wings when he broke into the senior team, Ox said the coaches tried to protect him and didn't want him coming up against more experienced and physically advanced players in the middle of the park.

His father also thinks CM is his best position. Still think Wenger will tinker with Chamberlains position, and he can play anywhere, very versatile, but long term I see him in a more central role.

In the middle long term, but I'd like to see him develop his game on the wings. He has the skill-set to play both equally as well as it stands.

Missionary

Doggie


But Arsène gonna use him through the middle.

Wenger listed him as a midfielder in todays press conference, and he played there in all the preseason games I've seen.

I've got to say I want him to develop out wide. He's got great pace, dribbling and has an eye for goal. He's got what it takes to become a fantastic wide forward that will bang in the goals for us. It must be me, but whenever I watch him in midfield I just don't see all his strengths being utilized.

Our squad isn't really blessed out wide either. We have a potentially world class wide man, not many of those around and I hope we see him there.

This for me.
An AM/WF to attack the area.
Improve the decision making & movement off the ball from out wide before moving central.
Neymar or Messi - take your pick as he could be either for us.
H*ll we could even go to a narrow 3 behind the ST & that would really get the going.

Yep, mo summed up how I feel about this. His potential goal threat is the most exciting thing about him and I'd love to see him develop similar to Ronaldo did at Man U, coming central from a wide position looking to get shots at goal. Whilst Theo, Podolski and Gervinho are in good form out wide I'd be happy to see him play centrally too, as a box-to-box alongside Arteta. Cazorla would have to play deeper rather than close behind the CF so we can dominate the middle just by shear numbers (rather than force) similar to the Koln match.

Been hoping for the same as Floating regarding giving him the no.7 shirt once Rosicky leaves.

You know I've always seen him kind of play the way Samir Nasri used to play i.e he would operate out on the left wing but would also join the middle at times and offer creativity there. I mean he has the quickness and directness as well as passing ability.

He's gonna be our new number seven once Rosicky retires.

Wenger should play him as a wide forward. He's unpredictable, he's fast and he's a a good crosser. This kid along with Wilshere and Szczesny are our future star players and captains.

Happy to see him develop his skillset playing at cm, especially when we're struggling for options there. Long term I think he'll be best out wide. Imo his ceiling as a wide player is far greater than elsewhere. Can see him becoming a great if utilized there whereas in the midfield while very good for his age (his positional play and understanding is top notch and better than many of the senior players), I don't see him as being quite as 'special'.

Wenger will find the best position for him anyway.

Wenger should play him as a wide forward. He's unpredictable, he's fast and he's a a good crosser. This kid along with Wilshere and Szczesny are our future star players and captains.

Co-signed. He has much more to offer outwide due to his pace and the style of running at defenders.

I see Wenger eventually playing him centrally but right now the need is greater outwide. He can come into midfield if needs be but he is a fantastic wing option atm.

I think we should try to mould him into a Ronaldo type wide forward/winger. The similarities are there. Great physique, undpredictable and good dribler, has a powerful shot and also good vision.

We haven't really had a proper goal threat from the wing since Pires and it's something we're missing. I think Arsène should try to turn hum into the English C.Ronaldo, the attributes are there. Play him from the left wing and let him cut in so he can get in finishing positions more often.

I see Wilshere as our future main man in the middle, I think the Ox would be more useful out wide.

walcott is a goal threat.

remember nasri from 2 years ago? granted they dried up in the second half of the season.

Playing him exclusively on the wing will limit him. He has too much ability. Also, the more he plays there, the easier it will be too figure him out. Even the greats like Ronaldo found that, after a time, a decent full back could nullify them. It was the freedom to move anywhere across the front line which allowed Ronaldo to take it to the next level. I think Ox needs that kind of freedom.

Playing him exclusively on the wing will limit him. He has too much ability. Also, the more he plays there, the easier it will be too figure him out. Even the greats like Ronaldo found that, after a time, a decent full back could nullify them. It was the freedom to move anywhere across the front line which allowed Ronaldo to take it to the next level. I think Ox needs that kind of freedom.

Spot on mate. The exact reason why Arsène is going to mould him into a midfielder. In fact the whole post is right on the money..IMO

i like him when he play attacking midfield i think he like to play in that position.

Prefer him as a winger, but trust Wenger to develop him.

Prefer him as a winger, but trust Wenger to develop him.

It's this for me too.

I've seriously no problem him playing CAM or wide, but can't help but have a personal preference for him playing as a winger.

In this interview posted below he states that he likes to be exciting and take players on, I wonder what he feels his strongest position is.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... te-the-fan

We can really see from this thread that one of the great things about AOC is how diverse his skill set is/could be. It's almost Messi-esque, in that you can never figure out what exactly is his best position because he can pretty much play almost all of them very well.

As of now though, he's a winger for me. There's been a lot of praise for his passing, and while it's good, I haven't really seen a lot to be impressed by yet. Also haven't really seen him do particularly well under pressure.

His game right now is all about drive and directness, and I think that's best used out wide, where he'll have more space to operate. We're seriously lacking in flair out wide anyway apart from Gervinho. A role in which AOC's main job is taking on defenders and making off the ball runs lets him work on his movement and finishing, while also giving him a better understanding of the game to further develop his passing and creativity for a midfield role. We also manage to limit his role a bit in the short term, as with more freedom comes more responsibility, and clearly he shouldn't be relied upon so heavily yet.

The only worry I have is that he becomes a victim of his own versatility, ala Phil Jones, James Milner, and so on. Lets hope then that it'll be versatility in that he excels in all roles like Messi and Ronaldo, instead of being a complete jack of all trades like Milner.

Personally i'd prefer him down the middle, his shooting will be unbelievable in a few years, it's very rare you see a player strike the ball so well from range.

Problem is Wilshere is coming back and has taken the number 10 shirt so maybe that position is going to be his? If it came to it i'd definitely rather have Wilshere at CAM and Ox on the wing, Wilshere is wasted deeper.

I would've thought Chambo would be used as a wideforward this season but it seems AW sees him as more of a central player. The positive is that he will see more of the ball, and could be more influential to our general play. His shooting ability could be better utilized as well.

Also seems like AW want Chambo in a B2B role, not in a CAM position.

I think Wenger will use Chamberlain primarily as a wide forward whilst giving him games in the middle where there is less pressure. I can't see Chamberlain moving predominantly to the middle until we upgrade our options out wide: either through external signings or internal upgrades (Miyiachi, Campbell, Gnabry etc.) Both solutions are unlikely to happen this summer.

Wenger should play him as a wide forward. He's unpredictable, he's fast and he's a a good crosser. This kid along with Wilshere and Szczesny are our future star players and captains.

This is exactly what makes me sad.

Wilshere, Ox and Szczesny may be here now but in the 'future', they might also pull a Nasri or Van Persie. Unfortunately, we don't see our talented yongsters grow anymore here at our club.

I feel his best position right now is wing-forward, taking into account the formation Wenger seems to be sticking with.

This is because he has more freedom to do his thing there. I believe he could become a fantastic AMC, but that position is not just about doing your thing, but tempering it with what the team needs. And that can only come with time.

Essentially, I'm happy with him being played in either position, because I feel there will be improvement in either.