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Has the time come for him to finally silence his critics?

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Alex Oxlade-ChamberlainAlex Oxlade-Chamberlain has not had the best of season’s so far.

The 22-year-old England international has been in and out of the squad this term, with Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and, most recently, Joel Campbell – a player who before the start of the season made just three starts for the Gunners since his arrival from Deportivo Saprissa five-years ago.

This season so far, Chambo has made a total of 29 appearances, of which he has started 14.

However, despite a promising start to life at Arsenal, the former Southampton man has not been the same player, with some even suggesting he should roll the dice, use some coupons on Gala Casino and leave the Emirates to revive his career.

Yes, Chamberlain hasn’t performed to the level we once saw when he first arrived, but some will say he deserves more opportunities than he has received this season, with many rating him above fellow Southampton academy product Walcott.

Well, Arsene Wenger decided to give him a chance to shine against Bournemouth over the weekend, picking The Ox ahead of Walcott and Campbell and it paid off. Despite a sluggish start, Chamberlain grew as the game wore on and scored his first goal of the season (yes you read it right).

Confidence seems to be the issue with Chamberlain, he currently lacks it, hence his under-par displays this season – being in and out of the team doesn’t allow him to build momentum and stake a real claim for a starting position.

So with this in mind, and having scored over the weekend and putting in a decent shift, should Wenger allow Chamberlain to build on his latest performance and start him against arguably a must-win game against table-toppers Leicester City on Sunday afternoon?

The Arsenal faithful are split on whether Chamberlain lives up to the hype, or is a player who just oozes it. Me, I believe he has the ability to succeed at Arsenal, but only if he is given a proper run in the side. Wenger did this with Campbell a couple of months ago and has proven that he is actually a quality act. So knowing this, surely Wenger should do the same with The Ox, and perhaps the Frenchman should begin this when Leicester City come to town – the sooner the better in my opinion.

Walcott hasn’t been up to standard in the past couple of games in my view and I think Wenger ought to give Chamberlain a real run in the side, like he did with Campbell, to prove to those doubting his ability that he can become a key player for this Arsenal side.

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