Danny Welbeck has tipped Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain‘s to thrive in a a central midfield role at Arsenal next season.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was one of the Gunners’ best performers last season, has made his aspirations clear that he wants to play in central areas of midfield.

His versatility has allowed him to play on a regular basis over the past twelve months and with troublesome injuries decreasing in frequency, it’s likely that he’ll be granted an opportunity to play there under Arsene Wenger’s guidance next term and beyond.

When asked about his opinion on where the Ox’s best position is, Welbeck said:With the quality he has and with his ability on the ball… I’d say centre mid.

I feel like he’s got the ability. I like it when he gets the ball in central mid, he knows that I can run in behind and he can play the ball over the top,” Welbeck continued.

He’s got that in his locker and that’s something that if we’re in training, we look forward to doing… if he stands somebody up in the centre of midfield and goes past them, they’re not getting the ball back.

The Ox had a successful take-on percentage of 68.89% and won 32 of his 70 tackles in the Premier League last season, which might not seem significant but highlights improvement on previous seasons.

Welbeck continued to praise his team-mate, whilst admitting it’s important for him to maintain his consistency and continue impressing with regular displays of quality.

He’s so powerful and quick with the ball. He’s got an eye for a pass too, so it’s centre of midfield for me.

He’s had some solid performances and it’s something that doesn’t really come as a surprise to me. I’ve seen him over the years, I’ve seen what he can do and what he’s capable of. I think now he’s started to reap the rewards from it,” Welbeck stated.

He’s putting in some solid performances and he knows that. But he knows in himself that that’s got to be the standard, he has to be consistent with that, improve and get to the next level. I’m sure that’s what Ox is focusing on doing.

Having impressed when given a chance to play there previously, it’ll be interesting to see how he fares alongside Granit Xhaka in central midfield next season, which could signal the beginning of a quality partnership in the middle of the park.