Hidden in The Times’ latest Manchester City summer overhaul update, there are claims that Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remains a key figure on Pep Guardiola’s hit-list. We all know that the Spaniard has been meeting Citizens officials in Amsterdam for a jolly/serious forward planning, and with the Etihad outfit backed heavily by their Middle Eastern owners, big moves are sure to have been discussed.
Is ‘The Ox’ worth the fuss?
Yes. Okay, he’s not lit up the Premier League in quite the manner many expected when the now England international was signed as a precocious teenager from Southampton, but time is on his side. Granted 100 league appearances sine the start of the 2011/12 season, with the majority coming as a sub, and only seven goals – an average of just over one a season – are not awe inspiring statistics, yet it’s easy to forget that he’s just 22, and his consistent Three Lions call-ups are proof that he has quality.
The home-grown issue
Not to be cynical, City have a problem with filling their quotas. This issue runs so deep that a 38-year-old Richard Wright has been floating around in the background since 2012 without making an appearance – albeit we’ve heard he makes a cracking cuppa. Raheem Sterling’s signing is a measure that the club are now going for quality English talent over just filling the slots, as they did with Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell, and Oxlade-Chamberlain is certainly much closer to the former than the latter two in terms of potential.
Will Arsenal sell?
Only Arsene Wenger and the Gunners’ board know this, but it makes sense that they may for the right price – perhaps £20m – £25m. The sheer level of transfer rumours surrounding the player hint that his agent is at work, but even though this may be a plan to push contract talks forward, there’s not often smoke without fire. Add to this the wealth of attacking midfielders Wenger has, and ‘The Ox’s’ situation suddenly looks shaky in north London.
Is he a Pep player?
Again, one cannot be entirely sure what his plans are, but Oxlade-Chamberlain’s versatility is the sort the Spaniard values. Throughout his reigns at Barcelona and Bayern Munich he’s shifted players around, converting Philipp Lahm from full-back to deep-lying playmaker, while also playing a key role in moving Lionel Messi into a central position and really creating the ‘false nine’ phenomenon. The Arsenal man can play anywhere in the attacking midfield zone, and has also shown he’s effective from deeper in the middle when called upon in the past.
Verdict…
For us this transfer rumour is more 2+2=4 than 5. Man City need English players, Pep values energetic, versatile options and Arsenal can surely be persuaded to sell for the right price.
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