So now that the ‘Golden Generation’ of England has finally fizzled out with nothing but thoughts of what could have been. National team boss Roy Hodgson needs new stars to step up and shine.

New captain Wayne Rooney bridges the two generations but the Manchester United star has had a bit of a tough time of it as of late. Question marks surround the forward with many including former teammate Paul Scholes asking if the Man United hitman has already peaked in his career. Can he thrive with the added pressure of being captain at both club and country.

Many pundits and fans alike have high hopes for Everton’s Ross Barkley. But the youngster still has a lot to learn in top flight football. He needs to be able to reach his potential in his own time and not rushed just because he has vast potential. Hopefully he can return from his knee injury and get more games under his belt. Then become an England star in time for Euro 2016.

For me though, Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should be the player that Roy builds his team around. The twenty-one year old has great ability and presence that can hurt most teams, when he is on-song.

He can play out wide or in attacking central midfield position. The ‘Gunner’ already has fifteen caps and three international goals. He possesses both pace and strength. Both are needed to excel in the biggest games both for club and country. The creative player can also skip past opponents with the slump of a shoulder, a burst of pace or a nice bit of skill.

Against Brazil in the Maracana in 2013, Oxlade-Chamberlain shone. He was fantastic on the ball and the team looked to him as an inspiration. He rounded off that fine performance with a wonderful goal too.

At Arsenal he never looks out of place in the company of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla.

Now this is an important season for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He needs to finally stay clear from niggling injuries and be ready to help Arsenal challenge for the title. The midfield maestro also needs to score more regularly and create more assists too!

His club manager, Arsene Wenger, has paid the midfielder a high compliment by comparing the talent to that of Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham.

The player has a huge amount of talent and the right attitude. If he manages to stay clear from injuries then he could be the star that Roy Hodgson needs when it comes to starting life after messrs Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

Posted on August 30th, 2014 by scott
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