Three ways West Ham move could help Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reignite his career
According to reports in the Mirror, Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is thought to be considering his future at the club.
After six years with the Gunners – in which he has struggled to consistently hold down a spot in the starting XI, until this year at least – the 23-year-old is yet to be offered a new deal and with his contract due to run out in the summer of 2018, an exit at the end of the current campaign is looking more and more likely.
He made the move to the Emirates from Southampton just before his 18th birthday in 2011, but it is understood that he is frustrated at the lack of progress he has made since then.
The shortage of games is affecting his England chances, and there is sure to be a long list of suitors in the Premier League, including London rivals West Ham United.
Here are THREE ways a move to the Irons would help Oxlade-Chamberlain reignite his career…
He would get regular football
As we mentioned previously, Oxlade-Chamberlain has made 35 appearances in all competitions this season, but much of that is down to the long-term absence of Santi Cazorla.
In recent years, the 23-year-old has struggled to get a regular run in the Arsenal first team, but a move across London to West Ham would certainly bring a solution to that problem, where he would also likely feature in his preferred position in the middle.
The midfielder would be one of the Irons’ key players, and that opportunity could lead to further chances in the England set-up.
He can replace Dimitri Payet
While Oxlade-Chamberlain isn’t one of Arsenal’s key players at the current time, he would have the opportunity to be one of West Ham’s big players if he did make the move to the London Stadium.
During the summer, Irons boss Slaven Bilic will be looking for a replacement for the influential Dimitri Payet – who left for Marseille in January – and the Gunners man has shown glimpses during his career at the Emirates that he has the potential to do just that.
There would be less pressure
Because of the lack of trophies in the last decade, it has in some ways been a bad time to be an Arsenal player in recent years.
The frustration from the supporters against manager Arsene Wenger and the players has often boiled over – especially this season – and that can’t be an easy thing for the squad.
While West Ham are a big club, there would be less pressure on Oxlade-Chamberlain than there is at the Gunners, and he could thrive as he did with Southampton when he was a teenager.