Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has agreed in principle to joinArsenal and is set to link up with the Premier League club in the summer, Goal.com UK can reveal. Arsenal and Southampton were today locked in talks over the structure of the deal, which will be worth £10 million including performance and appearance-related add-ons. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s switch will be completed either today with a loan back to St Mary’s until the end of the season or a pre-agreement will be put in place for the teen sensation to move to the Gunners in the summer. It is understood that Manchester City have been the only club other than Arsenal to table a formal bid for Oxlade-Chamberlain but the 17-year-old was not interested in moving to the City of Manchester Stadium and was concerned by the army of talent blocking his path to the first team. Liverpool, Manchester United and Fulham also made firm enquiries but were told that the teenager had made his mind up to join Arsene Wenger’s team and follow the path trodden by former Southampton wonderkid Theo Walcott.
Arsenal made their move with an official bid at the start of last week, as had been exclusively revealed by Goal.com UK. The deal has been complicated by Wenger’s unwillingness to bow to Southampton and the player’s wishes by allowing him to go back on loan for the rest of the season. It is believed that the Arsenal manager wanted to keep a close eye on Oxlade-Chamberlain and monitor his progress at the club’s London Colney training headquarters. But the player and his advisers believe he would benefit from playing regularly and trying to help Southampton win promotion to the Championship. Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second youngest debutant - behind Walcott - in the League One club’s history in March when he made his first Southampton appearance aged 16 years and 199 days. He has established himself as a first-team regular this season with a string of eye-catching performances and was extremely impressive when he was thrust into the spotlight against Manchester United in the Saints’ 2-1 FA Cup defeat on Saturday.