Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said that the players and fans all want the same thing – to win.

The Ox has been one of few shining lights over recent weeks. Finding his form in that pivotal central role, there have been games lately in which the Ox was the only one praised.

“We want to be able to respond for the fans,” Oxlade-Chamberlain told Arsenal Player. “They want to win as much as we do. We’re all in this together and we all want the same thing, so we’ve all got to stand up and be counted.

“People have been doubting us and it’s important that we pick ourselves up to try to turn the tide into a more positive one. Our fans are great home and away. They’re very loud so we hear them when they’re happy and when they’re frustrated, but that’s part and parcel of being at a massive club like Arsenal.

“They want us to win the league, so when we’re losing games and it seems like it’s slipping out of our hands, it’s going to be frustrating. That’s understandable because we’re a massive club and we’ve got a great team that is more than capable of competing for the title.

“They want to see us doing that just as much as we want to be doing it. We understand their frustration but we share the same frustrations as them. The only difference is that, as players, we have the direct opportunity to change things and make things happen. I think that, with the fans helping us by getting behind us, it will definitely help us do that.”

With four assists and two goals in just over 1,000 minutes of football, Alex has a lot of work to do on his final product. But he’s 23 and has time on his side.

Recently linked with admirers at a number of Premier League clubs, including long-time looky-loo Jose Mourinho, Alex is out of contract next summer.

With all the talk of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s contracts, many seem to have missed that the Ox is one of a number who are also out of contract in 2018.

Others whose deals expire next summer are:

  • Santi Cazorla
  • Carl Jenkinson
  • Kieran Gibbs
  • Per Mertesacker
  • Aaron Ramsey