While there were plenty of positives from Arsenal’s clinical 2-0 win over Bayern Munich – the one single negative that will cause a huge amount of worry is that Aaron Ramsey was substituted midway through the second half with an apparent hamstring injury.
The Welshman is set to miss out on the next 4-6 weeks of action, a bitterly disappointing blow to the Arsenal man, who was beginning to pick up some form.
Despite his public declarations of wanting to play at the centre of midfield, Arsene Wenger has largely fielded him on the right-side of a fluid four-man attack over the past few months.
Theo Walcott’s lack of form on the right a few months ago, Santi Cazorla’s current run of immaculate performances at the base of midfield alongside Francis Coquelin and a combination of bad form and/or injuries to other players meant right-wing was the only available slot in the Arsenal starting XI for the Wales international, who Wenger just couldn’t leave out.
One man who stands to benefit the most from this situation (ironically) is the man who replaced him on Tuesday – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Despite having started off the season with a Community Shield winning goal, the Englishman has not been able to nail down his spot in the team. A lack of defensive awareness (and a few unfortunate own goals) meant that the Ox stayed on the bench despite being a pacy, natural winger. Criticism over his contributions in conceding crucial goals against Arsenal (against West Ham, in the UEFA Champions League and for England) meant the former Southampton academy player was under near-constant scrutiny from fans & players alike.
On Tuesday night too – what went (slightly) unnoticed in the celebration of Mesut Ozil’s goal awarded by the keen eye of the fifth official was that Chamberlain somehow managed to sky the rebound from Manuel Neuer’s save despite being less than 5 yards away.
With Jack Wilshere & Danny Welbeck out until the New Year and the unlikely occurrence that Walcott will be shunted out on the right to accommodate Olivier Giroud at the number nine role – it looks fairly certain like Chamberlain will start on the right wing against Everton this weekend at the Emirates.
The Ox must seize his chance to make a strong case for his inclusion in subsequent games to come. He must relish his chance of linking up with Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin to unleash devastating pace & imagination on the club’s rivals.
The highly self-critical Englishman has spoken in depth about identifying & analysing his own weaknesses on the field. Without being too harsh on himself – Chamberlain must overcome his recent worries soon – by adding defensive focus and finishing off chances clinically to help sustain the amazing momentum generated with three convincing wins on the trot.
