COMMENT By Greg Stobart
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain spoke last week about the boost that he gets from playing under a manager who has confidence in him. He was speaking about Roy Hodgson, rather than Arsene Wenger, as he returned to the England starting line-up for the first time in 10 months with an impressive performance in their 6-0 win against San Marino.
"It is really nice to know that a manager has faith in you, which he definitely has," said Oxlade-Chamberlain.
"It gives you more confidence and security to go out there and perform. It's something I'm grateful for."
Hodgson is expected to maintain his faith in Oxlade-Chamberlain but playing him from the start again when the Three Lions take on Switzerland at Wembley on Tuesday night.
But there are many who would look at the statistics - see that the youngster averages 0.71 shots on target per game for England and only 0.32 for Arsenal, that his average international appearance lasts for a minute longer than his average club game - and question whether or not the midfielder has received the same backing from Wenger.
The 22-year-old is one of the brightest talents in the country but has never been able to find a rhythm at Arsenal since his £12 million move as a teenager in 2011.
His biggest problem has been the knee and groin injuries that restricted him to just 37 Premier League appearances in the last two seasons combined. He has never made more than 25 in one year.
Now, though, the youngster insists that those issues are behind him and that he is fighting fit for what he hopes will be a breakthrough campaign.
While there are some at Arsenal who believe that Oxlade-Chamberlain's best position is as a box-to-box central midfielder, Wenger appears determined to make the most of his pace and trickery in a role on the right wing. It seemed to be paying dividends when he did play last term, with 2014-15 seeing his rate of chances created spike to 1.52 per game (35 in 23), where previously his best for Arsenal was 0.76 in 2012-13.
He started and scored the winner with a superb effort in the Community Shield victory in August that ended with the man-of-the-match award but has since started only two of Arsenal's four Premier League games.
Oxlade-Chamberlaim's deflected strike forced the own goal from which the Gunners won their last league outing, away at Newcastle, but there is a feeling that he is likely to lose his place when Arsenal face Stoke City on Saturday.
Both of the former Southampton man's starts this season have come when first-choice players have been unavailable. Alexis Sanchez was not ready to play from the start in the league opener against West Ham while Mesut Ozil missed the Newcastle win with a knee injury.
Oxlade-Chamberlain does not fit in to Wenger's preferred starting XI and the appearance is that it doesn't matter how well he plays. The likes of Ozil, Alexis and Aaron Ramsey simply won't be dropped and the England man is the casualty.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is a favourite among the Arsenal supporters, who love to see his directness and close-control. When the team fall into the trap of playing slow and predictable football, he is the man to inject some pact into attacks with one drop of the shoulder.
However, with transfer speculation starting to emerge around him - even if it is only Galatasaray - the 22-year-old finds himself at a pivotal point in his career.
He has looked like Arsenal's most dangerous attacking player in the first month of the new season and knows himself that this is a huge campaign as he looks to properly establish himself at the Emirates Stadium.
"I do feel it's a big season for me to kick on to my own expectations of where I want to be and where I want to push myself to," Oxlade-Chamberlain said.
"I had that in mind in pre-season and still now. I did feel really good, not with a point to prove, but I wanted to step up and perform as well as I can.
"I feel good at the moment and it gives you that bit of a lift mentally in that you can almost not worry about that side of it [injuries] and focus on playing and playing with more freedom, so that's been nice as well."
The chance to show off that freedom for England should help, with Hodgson's trust such that Oxlade-Chamberlain was picked ahead of club colleague Theo Walcott against San Marino. There is no doubt that he has the trust of his boss at international level.
What he really needs, though, is Wenger on his side.