London's “Arsenal“ team coach Arsene Wenger believes that the future of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is on the wings, despite the fact that the 21-year-old player prefers to play in the middle.
Since joining the “Gunners“ in 2011, the graduate of the “Southampton” academy has tried out many different roles on the field, but the team strategist does not consider him a potential substitute for Mikel Arteta when he is unable to play.
Oxlade-Chamberlain's favorite position is central midfielder, but Wenger is confident that the Englishman can also play on the wings just as successfully as David Beckham or Zinedine Zidane did.
“I like to play in the center, but I will play wherever the coach tells me to,“ Chamberlain said when asked about his favorite position.
Wenger chimed in: “Beckham and Zidane played on the wings and managed to become top-class footballers. Alex can do the same.“
These words of the coach suggest that Oxlade-Chamberlain will not be a substitute in the upcoming UEFA Champions League match for Arteta. Wenger confirmed that the Spaniard only suffered a minor injury, but will still miss Wednesday's game.
England's midfielder has played in all three of this season's “Arsenal“ matches, coming off the bench twice. In the weekend match against Everton, Chamberlain started from the first minutes, but was substituted as the team fell behind 0:2.
