Nice one Arsene

[Dunny]

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain close to £5m move from Southampton to Arsenal



By Simon Jones
Last updated at 11:58 PM on 13th January 2011

• Comments (8)
• Add to My Stories

EXCLUSIVE

Arsenal are close to agreeing a £5million deal for Southampton youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Manager Arsene Wenger has moved swiftly to head off interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United in the 17-year-old.


Hot property: Arsenal will move quickly to pounce for highly rated Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal have a strong relationship with Southampton after signing Theo Walcott in 2006 and the Oxlade-Chamberlain transfer will be similar.

They paid £5m for Walcott with another £7m based on appearances and England caps.

Southampton are still negotiating but hope to achieve £10m for Oxlade-Chamberlain, with the player staying on loan for the rest of the season.


Trailblazer: Theo Wacott (right) left St Mary's for Arsenal in 2006

His father, former England winger Mark, has said his son can be even better than Walcott, having coached the England forward at Southampton.

Chamberlain said: ‘I’ve worked with both. As an all-round technical player Alex has more to offer.’

The attention of Liverpool director of football strategy Damien Comolli and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has made Arsenal act.

[Dunny]

Boy wonder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will sign for Arsenal as Arsene Wenger wins £10m chase for teenager


EXCLUSIVE By Rob Draper
Last updated at 3:17 PM on 23rd January 2011

• Comments (0)
• Add to My Stories

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will end the chase for the teenager rated the most talented in English football.
Every major Premier League club, including Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle United, have been tracking Southampton boy wonder Alex Chamberlain.

Rare talent: Alex Chamberlain

But the 17-year-old midfielder visited Arsenal's training ground on Friday, met manager Wenger and will sign a £10million deal after talks with chief executive Ivan Gatzidis on Wednesday.
Only a last-minute offer from City could disrupt the move but Chamberlain, the son of former England winger Mark Chamberlain, and his advisers will choose the club they believe will best help the teenager develop.
Arsenal's record in furthering the careers of England's Theo Walcott - also signed from Southampton as a teenager - and Welsh star Aaron Ramsey is understood to have convinced him.
They have yet to finalise a fee with Southampton but Saints will not stand in Chamberlain's way.

Hot property: Arsenal have moved quickly for Chamberlain

An initial payment of £7m is likely to be followed by supplementary fees when the England Under-18 international reaches the first team.
Arsenal may even loan Chamberlain back to Saints for the rest of the season. He made his League One debut as a substitute last March at the age of 16 years and 199 days, making him the secondyoungest player in the club's history, after Walcott.
A goal on his full Saints debut in the Carling Cup clash with Bournemouth in August highlighted his potential and he signed a professional contract at St Mary's that month.
Chamberlain, booked yesterday in Saints' 2-0 defeat at Tranmere, has impressed the top clubs with his range of passing and all-round vision.
He also has great pace, inherited from his father, who won eight England caps while playing for Stoke in the Eighties.

[Dunny]

Arsenal beat Manchester City to secure £10m deal for Southampton star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Liverpool, Manchester United and Fulham had made enquiries

31 Jan 2011 13:00:00

398 Share
1

Photo Gallery
Zoom

FA Cup,Alex Chamberlain,Southampton vs Manchester United(Getty Images)
Related Links

Teams

• Arsenal
• Southampton

Players

• Alex Chamberlain

Find the best odds and bet on the Premier League.

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has agreed in principle to join Arsenal and is set to link up with the Premier League club in the summer, Goal.com UK can reveal.

Arsenal and Southampton were today locked in talks over the structure of the deal, which will be worth £10 million including performance and appearance-related add-ons.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s switch will be completed either today with a loan back to St Mary’s until the end of the season or a pre-agreement will be put in place for the teen sensation to move to the Gunners in the summer.

It is understood that Manchester City have been the only club other than Arsenal to table a formal bid for Oxlade-Chamberlain but the 17-year-old was not interested in moving to the City of Manchester Stadium and was concerned by the army of talent blocking his path to the first team.

Liverpool, Manchester United and Fulham also made firm enquiries but were told that the teenager had made his mind up to join Arsene Wenger’s team and follow the path trodden by former Southampton wonderkid Theo Walcott.

Arsenal made their move with an official bid at the start of last week, as had been exclusively revealed by Goal.com UK.

The deal has been complicated by Wenger’s unwillingness to bow to Southampton and the player’s wishes by allowing him to go back on loan for the rest of the season.

It is believed that the Arsenal manager wanted to keep a close eye on Oxlade-Chamberlain and monitor his progress at the club’s London Colney training headquarters.

But the player and his advisers believe he would benefit from playing regularly and trying to help Southampton win promotion to the Championship.

Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second youngest debutant - behind Walcott - in the League One club’s history in March when he made his first Southampton appearance aged 16 years and 199 days.

He has established himself as a first-team regular this season with a string of eye-catching performances and was extremely impressive when he was thrust into the spotlight against Manchester United in the Saints’ 2-1 FA Cup defeat on Saturday.

[Dunny]

My boss keep away from the madness as usual and keep building the Arsenal way.In Arsene we trust!!!