Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hoping to cast aside injury concerns and finally play his part in Arsenal FA Cup final
Another badly-timed hamstring injury has threatened to put Arsenal player out of the big day at Wembley but Oxlade-Chamberlain is determined to make this year's final his own
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Arsenal have won the FA Cup twice since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been there but the England midfielder is still waiting to make a final his own. He missed the 2014 final as he struggled to get over a groin problem, and played one minute of the 2015 final, having again seen the end of his season ruined by hamstring and groin injuries.
While he has good memories of those two afternoons, it can never be quite the same as winning it having played from the start. That is what he is desperate to do on Saturday, after yet another badly-timed hamstring injury has threatened to put him out of the big day at Wembley. “It’s a bit of a trend isn’t it,” Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted with a wry smile at the Arsenal press day on Wednesday. “When it happened again I thought ‘oh no here we go again.’”
But Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to training last Saturday and is confident that he will be fit in time to face Chelsea on Saturday, even if the position he has been playing recently, right wing-back, now belongs to Hector Bellerin. “I'd love to start the game, play the whole game,” he admitted. “But team selection is tough.”
That is what Oxlade-Chamberlain found out in 2014, when he picked up a groin injury four weeks before the final against Hull City. He thought he had proved that he was fit enough to be involved but Wenger disagreed, to Oxlade-Chamberlain’s dismay.
“I even missed out on being involved and on the bench,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said. “I was really upset and gutted about that, because I’d played a big role getting into the final.”
It can be difficult for players not even in the squad, but when the drama unfolded, it was automatic for Oxlade-Chamberlain to support the team. “I was really disappointed to miss out, but once the game started, I was on the bench, in and among the boys. To go 2-0 down and bring it back, all the disappointed feelings went out of the window. I was as excited as if I had scored the winning goal, like Aaron [Ramsey] did. It’s obviously disappointing when you miss out, but when you’re involved with a team all the way through the year, and you get to share winning, you’re over the moon.”
One year later, Oxlade-Chamberlain got closer, but only just. A combination of groin and hamstring injuries put him out for almost the last three months of the season. He came on in the last few minutes of the final league game of that season, preparing him to be on the bench at Wembley. He came on in added time for Alexis Sanchez, as Arsenal brushed past Aston Villa 4-0, one of the least competitive FA Cup finals of recent years.
“I came on right at the end, and the game was already done,” Oxlade-Chamberlain says. “But just to come on and be involved was a really nice moment for me. Obviously, after missing out completely the year before, it was a nice moment, winning it again. That's all that I was there for.”
But this year Oxlade-Chamberlain hopes to go one better, even if it may mean having to play out of position. With Bellerin likely to start at right wing-back, Chamberlain’s likeliest opening is at left wing-back. It is not his natural position but he knows that his attributes suit the job well. He has even been watching clips of Dani Alves to see the best starting positions for a wing-back when a team is out of possession.
There is a nagging feeling with Chamberlain that even now, in his sixth season at Arsenal and at the age of 23, his best role is unclear. He wants to play in midfield, he says that is his “main ambition”, and Wenger has told him that is where he will end up, but the evidence suggests otherwise.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has one year left on his Arsenal contract and the two sides are no nearer agreeing a new one. He did not want to speak about his future before the game but it is hard to avoid the feeling that this could well be his last game for Arsenal. If it is, how better to say goodbye with a winner’s medal, and maybe this time a full 90 minutes?
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