Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

[Dog Toffee]

About time this kid had his own thread I think. To me, there's a 16 Y.O 'Rooneyesque' quality to him, a quality that so many of Wengers kids haven't had. That physical strength (He looks similar to Baptista, 'The Beast' IMO.) that Theo, Vela, Chamakh etc.. havent got, he just seems ready to play in the PL regularly, and immediately. I don't think he needs much 'bedding in' at all.

That saying 'If your good enough, your old enough' seems just be right for Alex Oxo. And this is just going on what little we've/I've seen from him. Anyone else think he might just be a real success? I know he's had fuck all experience and there's no real evidence yet to show he'll succeed, I just have a gut feeling, and I know others do too, I think he'll be a real quick learner and enter the first team as quick as Wilshere did.

I mean, (disregarding those on GW that think Wengers lost his marbles) spending £12m on a player like Oxo, with only league One experience, suggests a few things-

- Other top teams were in for him/interested too. Why spend £12m if there was no competition?

- Wenger spotted a 'ready now' quality in this kid, (already he's the youngest english player to score a CL goal), after the loss of Fabregas and Nasri the last thing Wenger needed was a kid who needed 2/3 years PL experience to be ready, and IMO Oxo will be in the first team regularly by X-mas.

- He has that eye for goal quality that many of our attacking players are missing. He doesn't seem the type to pass when he can score (just look at his LC and CL goals) for example, imagine our current team without Van Persie (scary thought.) Where in hell are the goals going to come from? I Think Oxo was bought on the knowledge (Wenger knows remember) that he has goals in him.

It may seem obvious to say, 'yes Oxo will be a first team player sooner or later', because obviously he will, but I think he'll develop much sooner than expected, considering the injuries we get, he'll have the chance.

Discuss...

[Özim]

Very talented player, it was evident last season so not disappointed we signed him. What you can question though is spending 15 million on a kid when their were more pressing issues, however I'm quite happy with signing him.

The bit about not spending big money if he's not ready now though isn't true, he spent big money on Walcott and he's still nowhere ready 5 years later.

I personally think he can feature heavily this season, due to his age he should be protected a bit as to avoid problems with injuries later in his career, but he's someone who can make the difference when he does play.

Good dribbler, pacey, intelligent footballer and has an eye for goal.

[Marc Overmars]

I'm always wary of these kids who are deemed to be the next big thing.

In reality, there are only a very select few who have had such a big impact from a young age. Rooney, Messi and Cesc off the top of my head, these guys as teenagers were years ahead of their natural development.

Oxo looks like a big talent though and I can't wait to see how he develops over the next couple of years.

I just hate the English hype machine.

[dazthegooner]

Not seen much of him but he looks the real deal very good prospect but we can't play him too much or we'll get another situation like Wilshire, look at the way Fergie looked after Giggs as a kid probably why he's still playing now!

[Niall_Quinn]

I was watching him play last night and it was bugging me, who did he remind me of. It wasn't Rooney - it's Giggs, but Giggs with pace (a thoroughly terrifying and delicious prospect).

The kid's 18 and you can clearly see the enthusiasm he has for football. He seems to play without nerves. It's very evident he has natural talent, very comfortable on the ball, strikes it very well including great delivery from the byline, he's economical and accurate with is passing and he has that special gift granted to only a few, he makes time for himself when he has the ball.

But early days yet. We need to see him up against tougher opposition, we need to see if he can impose himself on a game rather than drift in and out like a string of previous hopefuls at the club. Fingers crossed he starts against the spuds, that'll be a proper test considering we'll have much less of the ball.

Easily the most exciting player I've seen at Arsenal since Henry arrived. Jack's a fine player too and will go on to captain his country if we don't fuck him up beforehand, but he's not a pacey striker who will get you out of your seat with a flash of brilliance. I can see that sort of talent in Oxo already. For me he's way ahead of Walcott on his way to becoming the finished article. It's hard not to think he's been brought in to replace Theo who has failed to realise his potential. So yes, you have to hand it to Wenger or whoever spotted Oxo, they may well have finally unearthed a gem.

I hope he's not injury prone like the rest of our lambs.

[Syn]

"FFS Wenger pissing away £12m on an unproven kid again..."

He has a high ceiling - whether we're likely to help him realise his potential is debatable. I hope he continues to run forward whenever he has the ball and doesn't feel the need to pass in-field to RVP like everyone else.

[Power n Glory]

Most exciting player since Henry?

You wasn’t excited by the arrival of Reyes and when he banged in those two goals against Chelsea?

Arsahvin’s arrival and first few months? Nasri? Theo when he first arrived and everyone was desperate to see him play? The Cup final goal against Chelsea? RVP when he first arrived? Cesc? Rosciky? Knowing we had him signed and then seeing that World Cup scorcher?

We’ve had a plenty of players that have looked dangerous and had everyone excited. I find it hard to believe this is the only one you’ve been excited about.

[Cripps_orig]

Considering Henry was a bit shit when we got him as well, i doubt he was really excited by it

[Niall_Quinn]

"FFS Wenger pissing away £12m on an unproven kid again..."

He has a high ceiling - whether we're likely to help him realise his potential is debatable. I hope he continues to run forward whenever he has the ball and doesn't feel the need to pass in-field to RVP like everyone else.

It's understandable that mostly everyone has lost faith in Wenger's ability to bring in genuine talent, it happens so rarely these days. But this deal looks good so far. The £12mill will hurt if we start hearing stuff about 22 week injury lay-offs though. Got to keep him fit, which means asking Diaby to stay at home on training days (if Diaby ever makes it back from whatever it is he's been doing for months).

[Niall_Quinn]

Most exciting player since Henry?

You wasn’t excited by the arrival of Reyes and when he banged in those two goals against Chelsea?

Arsahvin’s arrival and first few months? Nasri? Theo when he first arrived and everyone was desperate to see him play? The Cup final goal against Chelsea? RVP when he first arrived? Cesc? Rosciky? Knowing we had him signed and then seeing that World Cup scorcher?

We’ve had a plenty of players that have looked dangerous and had everyone excited. I find it hard to believe this is the only one you’ve been excited about.

Yeah but I didn't say he was the ONLY player I've been excited about, I said he's the most exciting I've seen. Yep, the others you mentioned were all good too and even Walcott had that "can't wait to see him play" factor. I freely admit I wasn't bothered one way or the other about Oxo being here, thought he was another one of Wenger's pet projects. But having seen him play I've 100% changed my mind. With Wilshere gone my interest now turns to this kid to see what he can do.