Do Not Sell My Personal Information
With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ended a long wait for a Premier League goal with a great strike against Bournemouth, @DanGaleaStJohn looks at how the England prospect can build upon that effort.
Strangely enough, “goal” was not the first word to emerge from my mouth when Oxlade-Chamberlain squeezed home Arsenal’s second goal from such a tight angle. The first thing I said was ”Oh my, how he needed that!”
Not many would disagree that the Ox is having a very below par season so far. However, it is mostly attributable to his confidence, and not to his talent. The bulky Englishman has loads of potential, but his over critical character greatly limits his improvement.
Wenger often says that Chamberlain puts himself down for every mistake which he makes. His goal and assist count are far from a pleasant sight for a player as good as he is. However, his lack of confidence and ability to nail a place down in the first team have meant that his development has been awfully stunted.
To say that the Ox lacks talent would be a huge insult to him. Often this season, it has been his last touch which has let him down, as well as the woodwork, which deprived him of a goal on a few occasions already.
Yesterday, the post proved helpful, as his angled shot bounced off the inside of the upright and into the net. Hopefully, this will prove to be a springboard in his season and career.
With Walcott not performing, Sanchez still coming back from injury, and Campbell still not seemingly a definite starter, the Ox may not have a better opportunity to nail his place down in the team. Of course, he had multiple opportunities to do so this season after he returned from injury.
However, his confidence boosting goal arrived this weekend, so hopefully this will prove to be the foundation on which he can build in order to have a successful season and guarantee a call up with the national team for the Euro’s.
One thing which I think can help the Ox become a better player is his long distance shooting. A lot of times we have seen him attempt long range shots, only for them to go horribly wide of the post. However, this is one of his strong points. Chamberlain is a strong young man who can really ripple the back of the net if he focuses a bit more on getting his shots on target.
The Ox’s biggest deficiency, in my opinion, is his inability to hold onto the ball, which leads to him losing the ball in dangerous areas (for example, when Monaco robbed him of the ball last year to score their 3rd goal). Also, he needs to put more effort into his deliveries.
I wonder if he is not sure whether his future lies on the wing or in central midfield, and so is still not sure what to do with the ball, and when to do it.
I personally think he will make an exceptional winger, but he needs to focus on the minor details that can turn out to be the difference between a goal and a spurned chance.
