I’m one of Chamberlain’s biggest critics because his decision making and final ball have been shocking. But the goal against West Ham and assist against Stoke were top top class. The cross/assist at Untied was very good.
He has 6 goals and 6 assists this season, he’s clearly upped his game and is making better decisions. His decision making is still an issue, but it’s improving, especially in the last 2 games.
Now let’s say his decision making/final ball gets to Alexis Sanchez levels, which is also erratic (decision making), we’ll absolutely love him, he’ll become world class. We ignore Alexis’s feck ups because of his highlight reel moments. Ox’s level of dribbling with a good final ball would absolutely be world class.
Oh and even if Wenger wanted to sell, he shouldn’t tell people that might but he wants to sell, he shouldn’t tell Chamberlain who’s confidence may drop and he’ll be worth even less. But I don’t think he wants to sell and it’s the right decision because right now he might be coming good.
“Now let’s say his decision making/final ball gets to Alexis Sanchez levels”.
You say that like it’s a walk in the park with a cool summer breeze.
We ignore Alexis’ over dribbling et al because not only does he have the heart of a lion but also the quality to match, Chamberlain isn’t attaining either.
I don’t think a contact extension is a great move for him and us personally as he does not have what it takes to be a permanent starter for a top club, unless of course he’s very happy with being a bit part player ?
You basically always want to extend your younger players. Were we to sell Ox, he would be worth more with a long-term contract than with an expiring one. I’ve got no problem with the extension.
More broadly, he has been a useful player for us this year, even if his questionable football IQ and final ball might mean that he won’t ever be good enough to be a starter for a club with title aspirations. Fans get so stuck in one mode of thinking (“Ox sucks and Iwobi is obviously better”) that they are unable to process developments that actually are taking place on the pitch. Iwobi might have more footballing talent in many ways and be a better long term prospect due to his age. But he went 10 straight starts in all comps without contributing a goal or assist between mid September and early December - a major part of our lull in form was due to him providing next to nothing on offense. Meanwhile, for all his faults, Ox has actually delivered the goods in the last two months and come up with some key goals and assists.
The caveat here is that Iwobi is what four years younger?
I agree on extending we can’t just let him swan off on a Bosman free. However, the fact he was stuck on the bench in favour of Iwobi who only recently became a first team mainstay speaks volumes tbh.
Chamberlain is finally contributing but it’s long overdue and yeah he’s done well but is it to the point where he’s clinched a consistent starting place in the XI? I think that will be the recurring theme of any kind of career he has here.
That will only work though if you have a chance to sell him later on. Ox is already on rather high wages for his age and will only get more once he extends a contract, which makes it questionable if we will ever be able to get rid of him. We’ve been seeing this lots of times with players we want to sell but can’t because of wages and extending Ox’ contract just for the chance of anyone wanting to take him, if it doesn’t work out, is a solid recipe to have him around for the next 5 years or ultimately making less.
I think we’re in agreement. Iwobi’s skill set and youth makes him the better prospect for the long term. I’m not bullish on Ox being a player to build around, especially in the starting XI. But I do think his improvements this year should be recognized.
I don’t think the wages are such a massive concern anymore with the amount of money sloshing into the league. Everton just bought Bolasie for 25M and reportedly gave him a contract around 90K per week. Ox is on 65K and if he gets bumped up to the 80-90K range then I think we’ll still be able to find takers in the market if we decide to sell him.
I’d say the bigger issue is that Wenger will be stubborn and just persist with the player no matter what, even if selling him is in our best interest. But that is a Wenger issue. The solution isn’t to hope that all Wenger’s favorite sons leave on free transfers just to pry them out of his clutches.
Ox is on 65,000 pounds a week, Just think about that for a second. He clears at least 30k post tax every fucking week. I’m in the wrong profession. I don’t why thinking about this gets me especially pissed off
It will at some point though. You can only pay so many players high wages before it becomes a problem for a club like Everton or Spurs, even on the improved TV deal. Also paying inflated transfer fees for average players will add up at some point. Maybe now it’s not quite so much of a problem but it will eventually in the future and that’s when we’ll have to look for a new club for Ox if we decide to sell him.
You’re right though that Wenger may just stick with them. I mean if you’re going to pay for them anyway why not just keep and play them.
Hasn’t fulfilled his expected potential, though whether that was our fault for not managing expectations correctly remain to be seen.
He perennially fails to do simple things. Crossing for example, should be the bread and butter of any wide player.
He is at the stage of his career whereby he should be pushing for a starting spot and making vital contributions in games on a far more consistent basis.
Lastly, he seems to have been overtaken, or at least roughly equalled in contributions and displayed tslent by those younger and less experienced. Namely Iwobi and to a lesser extent Gnabry.
Ox was one of many hailed as the future of England and Arsenal by fans, desperate for an emerging star that could bring us to the next level. So its natural to have a fair bit of controversy surrounding him.
I will add though that he has been doing bits in big games, and if this seasons trajectory is anything to go by, he making real progress. But for a club in dire need of holding onto ‘big club’ status, anything less than Bellerin levels of ability by younger players will result in a lot of backlash towards the individual and the management.
I am on the fence as to whether or not he has a genuine future at Arsenal, for the moment i think he does, but alas, I don’t expect him to reach the lofty heights that anyone initially expected.
I ran some data through the sqwaka comparison matrix and he is eerily comparable to Victor Moses in a lot of ways. So writing him off would be utterly fool hardy, but it hails back to my earlier paragraph, that we as fans really do just need to manage expectations and find some balance with opinions.
IMO Ox has been worth every penny because he brought us that prestigious Community Shield and in doing so beat Mourinho in the process. campeones, campeones, ole ole ole!!
rational assessment of his worth to a club like ours
a 5th choice player that we could sell for £30 million? No brainer, sell him and buy a truly world class
player for £50+ million , net £20 million to improve the first team
Cool, give an example of a home grown player we should buy that is truly world class that plays in his position that we buy for +£50m who want to come.
campeones, campeones, ole ole ole!! 
