By Edward Stratmaan.

It took four and a half years for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to finally notch up his first Premier League away goal for Arsenal by scoring against Bournemouth.

He broke the drought in some style, however, with a finish that was well and truly worth the wait. Following a misplaced pass from Steve Cook that went straight to Aaron Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain quickly jetted forward, down the right, to provide a viable option for his Welsh colleague. Ramsey duly acknowledged his run, sliding a neat ball into the path of the Ox. The 22-year-old's accomplished first touch meant he was now in a perfect position to shoot, albeit from a very harsh angle. The finish that followed was sublime, as he rocketed the ball into the bottom left hand corner, past a hapless Artur Boruc, to give Arsenal a vital 2-0 lead. The placement, power and execution were all perfect here. Oxlade-Chamberlain's splendid goal was also his first Premier League goal in 16 months.

While his well overdue goal certainly caught the eye, this wasn't his only contribution towards the win, for he put in all-round showing that aptly depicted why, on his day, he's such a handful for any defensive unit.

Arsenal Football Kit Shop


First and foremost, his pace and directness on the dribble, particularly on the counter, worked wonderfully well, with Oxlade-Chamberlain using this extremely effectively to stretch the Bournemouth defence and isolate his direct opponent, Charlie Daniels. Oxlade-Chamberlain's not really a player to beat his man with mesmerising trickery, instead he prefers to use his pace and a subtle change of direction to breeze past his adversaries - and he did so on many occasions in this match.

As a consequence of being able to scorch by his marker with such relative ease, this often forced Cook to leave his left sided central defensive post to come and support his fullback, Daniels, which successfully created a large gaping hole for the likes of Mesut Ozil and Ramsey to exploit. The follow on effect of his ferocious speed was certainly underlined accordingly in such instances.

Moreover, even in Arsenal's slower, more controlled possession phases, Oxlade-Chamberlain still managed to cleverly create openings for his teammates to utilise. On top of drifting infield to manufacture space for his fullback, Hector Bellerin, to charge into by dragging Daniels inside with him, he also manipulated Bournemouth's defensive shape by making some fine decoy runs.

These runs, usually used to get in behind the defence or surge out wide, were executed so rapidly, forcing his marker to follow him. Interestingly, leading up to Ozil's opener, the Ox actually created space in a central area by embarking on a crafty decoy run to the right, with that now freed up space going on to provide the platform for Ramsey's cross into the box that led to the goal. Even though this aspect of Arsenal's first goal in 350 EPL minutes was widely overlooked, Oxlade-Chamberlain undoubtedly deserved credit for his part in it.

Moreover, by playing some crisp through balls, being generally tidy in possession and by masterfully taking his chance, those silly little mistakes that tend to creep into his game were encouragingly almost non-existent against the Cherries. Arsenal will be hoping this game might signal a return to form and an upturn in him making the most of his opportunities.

To round out his fine body of work he vigorously tucked into his defensive work, in a game where he had to, for Bournemouth had 51% of possession. This is precisely what Arsene Wenger wants for him, with the Gunners boss recently saying: "Alex has already improved a lot tactically but in that position I now want him to be more reliable defensively."

With the former Southampton sensation struggling with consistency and injuries this season, he'll be hoping this strong showing will be just the tonic he needs to get himself back on track. Thankfully, in Wenger, he has a manager who believes in him and who's always patient with his players.

Oxlade-Chamberlain's desperation to succeed is suitably illustrated by Wenger's recent comments. "I think Alex is too harsh with himself and he allows himself to get too down," he insightfully explained.

"It's not so much a lack of confidence, it's more he has such a high expectation level that he is very demanding of his own performances.

"But he is only 22 and we forget these guys are still very, very young. At the start of your career you are a talent and then you become more efficient."

Oxlade-Chamberlain will unquestionably be looking to impress for both club and country with an impending title charge and the upcoming Euros, but improvement is imperative if he's to ensure he's going to be a key figure in both outfits.

He's certainly got the talent, but only time will tell if he can produce the goods on a regular enough basis to nail down his spot in the two camps. On his day, he's nigh on unplayable, he just needs to add that level of continuity to his game. If he can, the combination of him and Hector Bellerin down the right could develop into one of the most lethal pairings across Europe.

For now though, after another solid effort in his side's dramatic 2-1 win over Leicester City at the weekend, Arsenal's FA Cup tie with Hull City and their colossal Champions League match-up vs. Barcelona loom as further massive opportunities for him to prove his worth. Wins here and another couple of positive performances here will do the player and his team the world of good.

It's now time for Oxlade-Chamberlain to stand up and be counted.

More from Edward at his football blog.