Oxlade-Chamberlain wants central role

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says he is ready to move into Alex Song’s midfield role at Arsenal following the Cameroonian’s move to Barcelona.

After Song’s 15 million-pound switch to the Catalan giants and a breakdown in talks between Arsenal and Real Madrid over a possible loan deal for Nuri Sahin, the north London side have been left short in central midfield.

However, 19-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain, nominally a wide attacker, feels he has what it takes to ‘step up to the plate’ and fill Song’s shoes.

He told The Sun: “They are big shoes to fill but you’ve got that anywhere at Arsenal. In any position you’ve got a big role to play and big shoes to fill. You only have to look back at the Invincibles and the team that won the league – they are massive shoes to fill for us.

“Whenever you’re playing on the pitch you have to step up to the plate and perform.

“Alex Song was a great player for us and he was a big player for us – but we’ve got a strong enough squad. I’m definitely confident of that and I’m definitely confident of filling Alex’s role.”

Arsene Wenger believes Oxlade-Chamberlain has a future in central midfield, a position he briefly played in during Arsenal’s 3-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League last season.

“I remember on the day I actually signed he asked me where I saw myself playing,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said.

“My dad was in the room and said ‘centre mid, he’s a midfielder’.

“The boss sort of laughed and said ‘I think he could be as well’. He said maybe to start off with I would be out wide and last season I did play the majority of my games on the wing.”

Meanwhile, Wenger has not ruled out making a signing for that position but insists a deal will only be done if he believes real defensive quality can be added to the squad.

“If someone really top, top class comes up … I do not need to buy an average midfielder,” Wenger told the Arsenal website.

“If someone top, top class turns up, completely defensive, we will consider it.”