Alexander Mark David Oxlade-Chamberlain was born 15 August 1993, the son of Southampton’s Mark Chamberlain. His uncle Neville was also a footballer (mostly with Port Vale) and was not Prime Minister of England.
He (Alex) signed for Arsenal on 8 August 2011 from Southampton for whom he had been Southampton’s second-youngest player. Their youngest was Theo Walcott.
The fee paid was around £12m plus add ons, and his value was seen when he became the youngest English goal scorer in the Champs League on 28 September 2011. His goal against Olympiacos in the 8th minute gave him the honour which had previously been held by… Theo Walcott.
He played his first England game on 26 May 2012 against Norway.
His first Arsenal game however won’t be a favourite memory of his – he was a sub in the 2-8 defeat to Man U (replacing Coquelin) but later in the season he did score in the 7-1 win over Blackburn.
Perhaps the biggest revelation however was to see him play in a central role in midfield in the 3-0 win against AC Milan. It showed that although we all see him as a winger he can play in this totally different role if need be. Marco van Basten, commentating on the game, described Oxlade-Chamberlain as a “gem” and it is hard to get a higher source of praise.
Alex was one of four English players to commit to long term contracts to Arsenal on 19 December 2012, amid the normal cries of anguish from some supporters that Arsenal were falling apart.
In his first season he played 26 games for Arsenal and scored 4. In his second season he played 33 games and scored 2.
The anniversaries
- 8 August 1962: Bristol Select v Arsenal – Joe Baker’s first game.
- 8 August 1977: Jimmy Rimmer plays last game v Aldershot in pre-season friendly
- 8 August 2004: Arsenal 3 Man U 1 Charity Shield
- 8 August 2006: Tomas Rosicky first game v Dinamo Zagreb.
- 8 August 2011: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain signs from Southampton for £12.0m.
- 8 August 2011. At AISA AGM Arsenal History Society established as a body in its own right within AISA.
- 8 August 2012: Park Chu Young given squad number 30
