Alex Oxlade Chamberlain was a surprise call up to the England squad, this summer, after his limited appearances in the Arsenal team, but there is no doubting that the kid has tremendous talent, and I am sure he will prove that Roy Hodgson was right to take him to Euro 2012.
His call up really does cap an astonishing rise to stardom for the £12million signing from Southampton, who only made his Gunners debut in August - in the 8-2 defeat to Manchester United.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain did not look as though he would be given a schoolboy contract by Southampton because he was told that he was too small for the game.

A year later, when he was 15, he was looking around sixth-form colleges to consider what career he might pursue if he could not become a professional footballer.

ARSENAL's youngsters will grow up considerably over the summer after the experiences of a topsy-turvy season and the Gunners could well be stronger as a result. That's the opinion of former Arsenal central defender Martin Keown, who reckons young Guns such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey can only learn from a campaign that started terribly had a few wobbles along the way but concluded with Arsene Wenger's side claiming third spot in the Premier League and in so doing a place in next season's Champions League.

Ten members of the Arsenal first-team have been called up and will be flying out to Ukraine and Poland to represent their respective countries in this summer's European Championships. Euro 2012 kicks off in just under two weeks time when Greece take on co-hosts Poland in Warsaw on June 8th.

RVP Won't Stay Unless Arsenal Sign Quality Players

Robin van Persie has reportedly told Arsenal that he will sign a new contract only if they can assure him that the team will end their trophy drought next year. (The Daily Star)

The 28-year-old striker was Arsenal's best player in the recently concluded season and scored a remarkable 37 goals for the Gunners in all competition.

Not to put a damper on the upcoming European Championships, but there's been a lot of news lately regarding possible racial attacks on players and fans in Ukraine. There has also been video news footage of organized, political hooligans taking part in military-style training camps.

This doesn't bode well for England and it's believed a lot of supporters are simply going to stay home this summer and watch the tournament on TV instead of dealing with any possible aggravation and the sky-high hotel prices.

Oxlade-Chamberlain: RVP Is Irreplaceable

Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain believes that if club captain Robin van Persie is sold in the upcoming transfer window, then goal scoring would become a major problem for the Gunners.

Moreover, the former Southampton starlet told The Sun that van Persie is a major presence at the club and his departure would leave a massive leadership hole in the Arsenal dressing room.

Amid reports that Arsenal are looking to bolster their attack with the potential signing of Fulham's Moussa Dembele, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has urged the club's greatest attacking weapon skipper Robin van Persie to remain a Gunner.

Van Persie reportedly had an inconclusive contract meeting with manager Arsene Wenger last week, with many assuming that the Dutchman turned down an extension that would have rewarded him with a £130,000 weekly salary.

If there's anybody who can offer advice to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain about representing England at a major football tournament as a teenager, it's his Arsenal teammate Theo Walcott. Theo knows all about the expectations heaped on upon a youngster since he was selected to England's World Cup team back in 2006 by Sven Goran Eriksson when he was just 17 years old.

His time?

A good Friday to you. Looking forward to the weekend? It's hard to be when the weekend doesn't involve Arsenal. The first weekend without them and it's not easy. Though there's a match tomorrow which will close the curtains on another eventful and "exciting" European football season.

Ox Delighted With Euro Call-Up

Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has said that his selection in England's European Championship squad is a bit surreal for him but is confident that he can help the national team without being intimidated by the stage.

After unveiling perhaps the most balanced and fairly selected England squad in years, Roy Hodgson also revealed that Steven Gerrard will lead the Three Lions in this summer's Euro 2012 tournament an appointment that was considered only logical by many before it was even confirmed.

Hodgson, who has worked with Gerrard before in the capacity of the Liverpool manager, selected John Terry in his 23-man squad earlier this afternoon but had no hesitation in choosing the man who received the armband that once used to belong to the Chelsea captain.

The Roy Hodgson era has begun for England with a slight stumble, and a delightfully promising one at that. He named his official 23 today, and two of the names garnering the most attention seem to be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andy Carroll, two youngsters with lots of potential, but actual contributions to the Euros up for liberal speculation.

Right then, it all boils down to this.

Participation in next season's Champions League hinges on our league finish which hinges on today's game against West Brom at the Hawthorns. Win and it's ours. Anything else and we're looking for others to do us favours and, frankly, we can't rely on that at all.

Over the past seven years Arsenal has unfortunately been labeled as chokers by supporters of many other teams and it's becomingly increasingly hard to argue the point with them. However, the club will have an excellent opportunity to shake the monkey off their back on Sunday when they head to West Brom for the season finale.

Roy Hodgson Courtesy Wikipedia

When I read about Roy Hodgson's appointment as the new England manager I was hoping my calendar said April 1st not May 1st. This news would have been ideal on April Fool's Day. Now, I have nothing against senior citizens. I believe they're a major reason why Britain is prefixed by the word Great.

Yes, it's true, the mighty Arsenal and Citroën have combined to promote the new Citroën DS5 through a video shot with the English National Ballet. No doubt the players involved in the video have been subject to more than one or two dressing-room comments on their newly-found artistic skills, but ballet dancers also need to be fit, supple and train hard to perform.

Unleash the Ox

Match day. 5 days too long to make up for what happened on Monday night. Days in between where our opponent for the day managed to replicate what we did last season, that is beating Barcelona at home in the first leg of the semifinal of their Champions League tie. Which should really set them up nicely for this match but I have a different idea where that is going.

Yossi Benayoun probably hasn't done enough to achieve cult status. His imprint is far larger amongst the squad than the fans. When he scored the winner against Aston Villa in December the euphoria in the celebrations said it all. It wasn't just that it was such a crucial goal, it was scored by a popular player in the team and one of the signings who did much to improve morale amongst the group.

Being kicked a few times won't stop Sagna from playing

The last time we faced a team in the relegation zone, we lost. This time around, the gap is even bigger. It was 3rd against 18th then, today it's 3rd against 20th. Wolverhampton Wonderers are the opponent for tonight and given the form that both teams are in and the position of both clubs, this should really be nothing other than a win for Arsenal.

Being kicked a few times won't stop Sagna from playing

The last time we faced a team in the relegation zone, we lost. This time around, the gap is even bigger. It was 3rd against 18th then, today it's 3rd against 20th. Wolverhampton Wonderers are the opponent for tonight and given the form that both teams are in and the position of both clubs, this should really be nothing other than a win for Arsenal.

This doesn't appear to be new, but it's too excellent to be missed out on.

Actually, it might be a bit late. While Citroen has a wonderful idea of mixing football with ballet to sell a car isn't that the ideal? this is probably several years too late. This commercial needed to happen six or seven years ago, with Patrick Vieira, Jens Lehmann, Freddie Ljunberg (this one, not CKFreddie) and of course, Pascal Cygan in the role of trainees.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made history back in February of 2005 when he became the first English Premier League manager to field a starting 11 that didn't include one English player. The reason for this appears to be necessitated by injuries to some of his top players at the time such as Sol Campbell, Justin Hoyte, and Ashley Cole.

Ahead of their clash against Queens Park Rangers tonight, Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been practising his crucial Charlie Chaplin side-jumps. And it seems that the 'Alexes' have been the life of the party for the Gunners lately you may remember that Alex Song was the clown of last week's training session!

Andre Santos and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have no doubts that their Arsenal side can go from relative anonymity at the beginning of this year to being crowned champions at the end of next season.

Santos and Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived last summer to join a Gunners squad that lost the services of Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri to Manchester City, and former skipper Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.

How much is Arsenal missing Na$ri?

The departure of Nasri at the end of August last year was used by many journalists, and plenty of fellow Gooners, as evidence that Arsenal had become a selling-club and was no longer ambitious enough to compete for the top prices.

How much is Arsenal missing Na$ri?

The departure of Nasri at the end of August last year was used by many journalists, and plenty of fellow Gooners, as evidence that Arsenal had become a selling-club and was no longer ambitious enough to compete for the top prices.

Fellow arsophiles, I want to pose a simple question:

In a season of ups and downs, false dawns and unexpected revivals, which Arsenal player has turned out to be the biggest surprise package (in a positive way)?

I'm not talking about the likes of Vermaelen and van Persie, of whom we all expected great things.

Fellow arsophiles, I want to pose a simple question:

In a season of ups and downs, false dawns and unexpected revivals, which Arsenal player has turned out to be the biggest surprise package (in a positive way)?

I'm not talking about the likes of Vermaelen and van Persie, of whom we all expected great things.

Arsenal won this evening's match against AC Milan at the Emirates in the Champions' League. But unfortunately, the Italians brought their four-goal advantage into this game and so our 3-0 win wasn't enough for us to go through.

The Gunners started with a real attacking intent as they had nothing to lose in this one.

Happy Friday to you all. Normally today we'd be all giddy and excited with the football about to be thrust upon us at the weekend, but we have a Saturday and Sunday free of Arsenal.

And as I said yesterday, as much as Monday night football irritates me I'm kinda glad we've got a bit of extra rest after Tuesday night.

Goals from Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky, and Robin van Persie (penalty) have brought Arsenal within striking distance of a historic comeback in the UEFA Champions League.

Down 4-0 against AC Milan from the first leg last month, the Gunners started the game in inspired fashion, attacking relentlessly against an AC Milan side that looked as clueless if not more than Arsenal did at San Siro three weeks ago.

Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain admits that he pays a lot of attention to the end product of his performances rather than simply taking the satisfaction from making an intangible contribution on the field.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has scored four times in all competitions this season while also adding a famous assist for Robin van Persie's goal against Manchester United earlier this year.

This week, American businessman, billionaire, and possible future owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Stan Kroenke flew into London in order to publicly express his full support of Arsene Wenger. Arsenal's board of directors has had some interesting topics to discuss, which include, but are certainly not limited to: Robin van Persie's future with the club, Arsene Wenger's future with the club, and the monies to be spent this coming summer all of which impact public perception of Wenger in one way or another.

Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill admits that the Black Cats will have their hands full when they entertain Arsenal at the Stadium of Light today, particularly given the dexterity of Gunners youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The teenage sensation has quickly become a fan favorite at Arsenal, setting up Robin van Persie's equalizer in the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United and then displaying his scoring abilities by netting twice in last weekend's 7-1 destruction of Blackburn.

What a game in store for us this afternoon. As was said earlier this week a barometer game. A resurgent Sunderland looking to continue their very surprising run against an Arsenal team confident as a result of last week's big win.

And yet, in my opinion both appear to be skating on thin ice.

Real Madrid wants Robin Van Persie. Look at my face: I am not happy right now.

Rather than just writing one opinion piece, I typically try to gather as much information from around the World Wide Web and condense it with my own commentary added. This week we've got Real Madrid pursuing Van Persie, Mourinho gunning for Arsene's job, Kieran Gibbs returns from a long layoff to strengthen the defense, and a hobbled Jack Wilshere all torn up about England's national team losing its coach just months before the Euro 2012.

There's something beautifully eerie about Arsenal's Emirates stadium when it experiences a night of snowfall. It almost looks like a scene out of the Twilight Zone and the colour of the sky just takes you to a different place. What are these goose pimples? Bring back November, please!

There's a story about David Bentley. When he went to Norwich on loan from Arsenal they were in a training session and he, thinking he was some kind of comedic genius, belted the ball straight up into the air and said 'ave it!', like Peter Kay in that ad for John Smiths. Nobody thought it was funny, least of the all Norwich manager.

After a disappointing start to this calender year, Arsenal were finally able to secure their first Premier League win of 2012, picking up 3 vital points against Blackburn Rovers in a 7-1 demolition at The Emirates.

Once again, Robin van Persie showed just how important he is to this Arsenal side scoring three and making two others during a numbingly-cold afternoon in North London.