Oxlade-Chamberlain excited by Arsenal’s summer deals

Martyn Thomas 06:34 09/08/2014
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  • Call the cavalry: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (left) has been impressed with the calibre of Arsene Wenger’s transfer business.

    Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain believes Arsenal’s summer transfer busi­ness has lifted morale at the club as they look to build on last season’s FA Cup success.

    The Gunners were yesterday paired with Besiktas in the Cham­pions League play-off round, and a victory would mean a 17th succes­sive season of group stage football in Europe’s elite competition.

    But the North London outfit have far loftier ambitions, with silver­ware firmly on their mind.

    And they will have their first crack at furnishing the trophy cabi­net when they return to Wembley tomorrow to face Premier League champions Manchester in the Community Shield.

    It will, however, be a slightly different Arsenal side to the one that beat Hull City in May with manager Arsene Wenger adding three players to his squad over the summer.

    World Cup stars Alexis Sanchez and Mathieu Debuchy have been brought in alongside young defender Calum Chambers, and Oxlade-Chamberlain feels their arrival has enhanced confi­dence in the dressing room.

    “It’s really exciting to see some­one like Alexis Sanchez come in, Mathieu Debuchy as well and Calum Chambers,” the England midfielder said.

    “It definitely brings a really good lift to the squad.

    “I feel it myself, when you’re playing with new players like that you want to get to know them, you want to try to impress them and you want to gel with them as quick­ly as possible.

    “So it does bring a massive lift and excitement to the squad, and we haven’t even seen Mesut Ozil yet, or our German World Cup winners. So when they come back again (on Monday) that will give us another lift. So it’s really exciting times.”

    Indeed, May’s FA Cup triumph ended a barren run for the Gun­ners, giving them a first trophy in nine years.

    Oxlade-Chamberlain was not fit enough to take part in that Wembley occasion, following an injury-hit campaign that restric-ted him to just 14 Premier League appearances and a role as a water boy at this summer’s World Cup.

    But now that he is fit, the mid­fielder is keen to help Arsenal add to their trophy haul.

    “I’m just thinking about Sunday’s game,” he said when asked about his hopes for the new season.

    “Obviously in the back of my mind I’d like to play as much as I can, as everyone would, but I haven’t really set myself any partic­ular goals other than the same goal we all set ourself which is to win the Premier League, to win the FA Cup and to do really well, and try to win the Champions League.

    “Those are the only goals I’ve really set and that’s the only thing that I’m focused on and I’m sure the rest of the boys are, especially after the FA Cup win last year and how nice that was. It makes you want to strive for more.”

    A good run in Europe will cer­tainly help Arsenal’s season and they will be big favourites to see off Besiktas later this month.

    Last season the Gunners saw off another Turkish club, Fenerbahce, to go on to make it into the last 16 where Arsene Wenger’s 2006 final­ists came a cropper against Bayern Munich.

    This is the Gunners’ first meeting with the Istanbul club, who finished third in the Turkish Super League last term and are now managed by former Everton and West Ham defender Slaven Bilic.

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