By Tony Attwood
I don’t know if Southampton like Arsenal or hate Arsenal, but they are making some money out of Arsenal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a winger whom Untold (and the rest of the world) predicted would sign, is undergoing a medical. Arsenal are paying £5m now and the same again later depending on appearances.
Alex will be 18 next week, and is a bit like Theo, as far as I can see. Theo of course also came from Southampton and turned out to be a Jolly Nice Chap. Alex did not play for Southampton at the weekend.
Alex has played 36 league games for Southampton and scored 10 with 9 assists, plus six cup games (one goal).
Alex Chamberlain also played 45 minutes for the England under 18 squad against Poland on 16 November 2010. On 2 February this year he joined the under 21s against Italy, coming on as a 60th minute substitute to replace Henri Lansbury.
Now the personal bit. He is
- The son of former England International player Mark Chamberlain and
- The great grand son of Neville Chamberlain who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940.
Is that a first?
Elsewhere… Robin van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen were both injured in the game at Benfica, but will play against Newcastle on Saturday – a game that utterly mirrors our first ever football league game. I will try and do a piece on the Arsenal History site about that first ever match, later this week. There is less good news on Gibbs who might not make the game. But of course before that happens there are internationals, which is rather dumb.
Jack won’t play for England and is a doubt for Newcastle. But Theo Walcott should play against the Newcs as should be Samir Nasri.
Meanwhile, there has been rioting in Tottenham which this morning apparently looks more like a third world country than Tottenham, although on reflection, maybe they are the same (and I say that having lived in both).
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Not a bad return for a 17 year old I would say. A little less than 1 goal in 3.6 games is not bad at all. And if you add the assists you see that he is involved in a goal in every second game.
And he is English and home grown so no problem fitting him in the 25 squad later on.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the great grandson of Neville Chamberlain?
I thought that Mark and Neville’s parents came over in the 1950s from the Caribbean?
Very pleased with the AOC coming to the Arsenal. Hopefully this sets the tone for the rest of the week in regards to the other players that we have been interested in (Campbell, Jagielka, Mata).
one for the future but lets hope we invest in the now
Welcome and wish you every success and may your future with this great Arsenal team be injury free.
Interesting to compare his league one stats to Afobe who made 32 appearances for Hudderfield with 8 goals and 10 assists (according to wikipedia). Given the similarity is it really a necessary purchase, given our weaknesses in other areas of the pitch.
Also, go to google and do an image search for Mark Chamberlain. Weird looking fellow.
Happy new season arsenal fans, players and mgt staff.Long live wenger and for God and our arsenal.
Let’s hope THIS Chamberlain doesn’t appease the opposition. Arsenal have had enough players do that lately.
Do we know who the referee is for this Newcastle game? If it’s Phil Dowd, Mike Dean or Howard Webb, treat 3 points as a miracle.
LOL r u sure that you are not thinking of his uncle Neville chamberlain? who played professionally in the 60’s.? Although I can only assume that I am wrong as that would be one hell of a blunder for a blog of this stature to commit!!!
great future player considering age and statistics.greatness runs in the blood.might turn out to be a rooney. what will be written on the shirt?ox would do.
Tony,
It’s not April Fools’ Day.
I query the “relationship” of AO-C with ex-PM Neville Chamberlain.
Good God! The sky is falling in, everyone wants to leave, those who dont are injured, Jack and RVP are about to hand in transfer requests, Cesc has been kidknapped, Wenger has lost the plot or gone senile, Nasri threatened the safety of a plane…or something…we are about to lose a place in the CL for a place in the Anglo Italian Cup and what do we do….go out and sign another attack minded kid!
I am going to turn up to the meeting this evening with the express aim of booing this AOC chap!
Who cares if he is a PM himself. The question is can he end arsenal’s trophy drought?He is too young to bear this responsibility.Don 4get Theo,another highly rated product of southampton & England offcoarse, needed 4 years tn come to his form;save that he is in form.¡¡
Another one to be fast tracked into the team i reckon – he’s been a target for a while I believe and should most definitely be great footballer in the making!!
Wishing him the best of luck in hopefully what would be a great and trophy filled future at Arsenal!!
Mandy @ 4.36:
Now is the time to sell your season ticket……to ME!
Tony were you mindful that some of your readers we are from the so called 3rd world, and is it correct for you to assume all that you call the 3rd world is under the upheavel thats taking place in tottenham, and that the 3rd world represents everything bad? Its absurd.
Let’s see what Alex can do before we speculate anything, as for the international friendlies, I like how Wenger has stood up to these national team coaches and has not released critical players because they are “hurt.”
Do we realy want anymore players for the future?As good as he might be in a few years we need players experience players now
Where is the super quality signing that wenger promised this week?
Super quality kids or men?
AOC is done. And that’s further proof that we’re adding more speed to our attacks. Previously it was only Theo..its now Theo, Gervinho, AOC and who knows ..maybe Joel Campbell or Ryo Miyachi as well.
What this effectively means is that teams will have to watch out for quick players on either side, which is far tougher than stopping just Theo.
All I want now is for Cesc to stay and RVP, Cesc and TV to stay fit for 80% of our games. We’ll have an awesome chance of winning something then.
p.s – I can do without a central defender. Yes you read that right 😉
May well do Shaka, I am off to the lane! I just cannot believe this news, what if he is lightweight as well? Now where would that leave us?
Yes this is a good signing (and he has an uncle called Neville chaimberlain who was a footballer) but if you think he will make a difference to the first team next season then you are mistaken.
Without RvP we are still desperately lacking, and our only good wingers are Nasri, hopefully gervinho, Waclcott and Arshavin. Maybe Chaimberlain, Miyaichi and campbell and afobe and anyone else under the age of 21 will make it in the future but none of them will make any sort of impact this season.
With that in mind, for a club that claims not to have enough financial resources to compete, surely a reported £12 million plus £3 million add ons is way too much for a 17 year old. Even if it is a total of £10 million it is way too much for someone who will be considered a youngster for pretty much the whole of his first contract. Ok we need to continue to buy young players but right now, surely we shouldn’t be spending more than a quarter of our transfer budget on a player who probably won’t even play that much next season.
If we keep selling players who haven’t even reached their 25th birthday and replacing them with 18 year olds we will be a club who is always in transition and will never be capable of winning anything.
I dont mind the purchase as long as he is not Nasris replacement.
If this means we are now selling nasri and took chamberlin as the cheaper replacement than Mata I will hit the roof.
Im baffled at why we signed him if Nasri is staying.
@Arvind: I was really thinking on the same lines, though I would still very much like to have the ‘EPL experienced defender’
@Murad & @Arvind
Agreed mostly with you two.
I only think we need a commanding defender to back up Vermaelen. One that can lead a defence. Djourou and Koscielny are great on their own, but so much better with a leader next to them.
Densol, because A did this, B must be the same? Is your football world really that simplistic?
@densol,
If it is trophies you want, your local tinker will oblige, you might have to borrow over what me sustainable for the bigger trophies but that’s your look out.
@walter,
the answer to your question is yes, his understanding of football is really that simplistic.
Off topic but things have really kicked off in London and other places, wonder if next weekend fixtures are going to be hit?
12 million was paid with another 3 Million to pay depending on all kinds of future stuff, plus 30% of any fee we get if we sell him.
If Arsenal have paid this kind of money for this player, there are things we don’t know about. He must be VERY good. He certainly isn’t for the future, he’s for the present. He’s straight into the first team. I personally think he has been bought with the sale of Nasri. At least we know we have cover for Theo. Oxlade-Chamberlain is a two footed player who can play right across the Midfield and play up front. His preferred side is right but he can play equally well on the left. He’s considered to be as fast as Theo.
Two wingers attacking with that kind of pace are going to unlock defences by either running at them, or acting as decoys to draw the defence away from a central attack. Interesting times ahead. I hear Oxlade-Chamberlain has the end product too, scoring a goal.
@densol I’m with you on that one Walter. Jack W was doing the business for Boltons 1st team when he had just turned 18,Cesc was doing it week in week out for our first team at the age of 17. Who are you to judge that A.O.C is’nt at the same stage already? Great Signing Arsenal.
My little brain can’t comprehend the possibility of Arsene spending all this money on a teenage winger and not spending money on the defenders that we need and he knows we need. The only conclusion is that he will buy at least one top class defender before September 1st. If not i’ll be left baffled by what has happenned to the man we called the Professor.
i dont mind that he is young, in fact i think that is a bonus!
look at all the other (English) wonderkids who came through – Owen, Rooney, Walcott. They were all amazing when young and innocent and fearless and importantly, with something to prove. Once Owen and Rooney felt like they had done it all and become the best, then they rested on their laurels and asked for lots more money or threatened a move.
im looking forward to Alex tearing up the left wing, and Theo tearing up the right wing. Gervinho and arshavin as alternatives… looking pretty tasty!
All I can say is that Chamakh cannot be relied upon. A year ago he came in and was completing around 90% of his passes, which for a striker was incredible. However, seeing him play against Benfica last week and how much he gave the ball away just makes it seem that he just doesn’t have his heart in it.
Rosko is past it, Arshavin might be too, and Bendtner looks to be off.
Gervinho looks to be a hell of a signing, and RVP is one of the best strikers in the world when he is healthy, but besides those two, we are going to need players like Theo, Afobe, and Oxlade-Chamberlain to step up and take their chance when they get it.
Nice one Tony , and I suppose you are going to blame global warming for young Alex ‘s nice tan ?
Watching this kid on Youtube, I have to say he looks good, strong, skillful with the ball and incredibly fast. Imagine having him and Walcott on the flanks with Arshavin/Gervinho as tactical change, we’re back to the Invincible time with real wingers.
@Travis
I’d suggest that OC’s value initially will be as an impact sub. From what I’ve seen of his play for Southampton he could cause havoc in the closing stages of a game with his aggressive direct running.
Brickfields Gunners
I LOL at your comment.
Tony hasn’t come clean yet about Alex’s alleged Great Grandfather! I bet he’ll say it was his deliberate mistake just to test us!!!!
I remember someone here (on Untold Arsenal) said that players like Phil Jones and Ashley Young do *NOT* strengthen Arsenal.
What do they have to say now that we spent 17M on a 17-year old?
I have just read a rather rubbish article about Alex OC by John Cross, which cite’s Le Grove as being the voice of fans. As he tries to legitimise that disguisting, small minded and unintelligent blog he totally discredits himself.
I have never been happy that the club have allowed him on fans forum or at events in an official capacity as a journalist. The man is dire and very devisive. His inflammatory words are always designed to elicit the most angry response from fans and smirks from other club supporters. In fact I know a Spud that reads his articles religiously.
I personally, am very happy that Alex OC is with us. The last young player that we got that Man U really wanted was Aaron Ramsey, so I reckon AOC must have something about him that made us go back in for him. The fact that the player and his father made it categorically clear that he was only interested in joining Arsenal in interviews instead of Liverpool and Manchester United also means that Arsenal’s past success under Arsene Wenger is helping us compete to get the stars of tomorrow. If everything came down to money, we would now loose these kind of battles, so the ‘WENGER OUT’ idiot’s should think about that, if possible.
Yes we didn’t get Smalling or Jones, but I wonder if you asked Ryan Babel or Gabriel Obertan if they could go back in time when Arsenal were interested in them who they would choose now, I bet they would change their choice.
Nipuna,
I don’t know who said it but I also don’t know who said we are paying 17M for AOC? You maybe?
Because the reports are from around 5M now and the rest depending on appearances and other stuff later on. So how do you get to that 17M??
The reports are rather inconsistent, with transfermarkt.co.uk changing the price within an hour from the official statement of the signing. The figure mentioned in the news piece on that site states it’s 12+3, but elsewhere one could see 5+3, 7+3, and even 9+3. With all that persistent misinformation about Arsenal’s plans and dealings, I guess it’s either 15 (12+3) or nothing (0+0) 🙂
The clowns on this site who state categorically that AFC paid or will pay between 15-17M for AOC are twits. They have absolutely NO information to back their claims up, and like so many clueless lemmings, believe everything they read in the Mail. Arsenal never reveal their financial dealings and contracts, and wisely so, since they would be rapidly criticized by our small group of whiny losers for spending _________ (too much)(too little) and losing the plot,blah,blah,blah.
the truth seems to be that AW has embarked on a new and even more concerted round of team building for the present and the future, relying on his proven foresight and skill, to populate the ranks of the squad with kids and imports who can radically alter the Gunners’ finishing skills and defensive lapses for the better.
By the way,Walter has mistaken AOC’s parentage with that of Neville Chamberlain, Britain’s pre WW2 prime minister, rather than the Footballer Neville Chamberlain. I did my research on the peerage website and since AOC is mixed race, it was obvious he wasn’t in any way related to those Chamberlains!
Tony,
Why are you perpetuating the ridiculous story that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the great grandson of Neville Chamberlain the former British Prime Minister (in red, too)?
welcome aoc wish u a fruitful season but wenger must sign etoo,cahill,campbell and mata sell fab,nasri,bentner n arshavin if u really want us take a silverware this season we are impatient of waiting.
Hello and good bye. Loan him out to west ham now!
Nicky,
I think Tony’s silence on the fictitious relationship of AOC to the former PM Neville Chamberlain says it all. I did find it curious too, knowing that AOC’s father, Mark, is a black man. I can see how some people might have been confused by the fact that AOC has an uncle called Neville Chamberlain (his father’s older brother)but I thought Tony was a little more thorough than that and just took it that he was slightly joking.