Could Alex get a late call?

It is rare for a player to make last minute jump to International football, just before a major tournament, but could Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain be an exception?

We can look back at players such as Michael Owen or Theo Walcott, as examples of an international manager taking a gamble on a youngster after only a handful of top flight games, but with last weekend seeing only the first Premier league start for the former Southampton youngster, it would still represent a shock to many to see the Arsenal player make it to this summer`s European Championship.

With the form of a few England players like Walcott and Downing not looking good and injury to Ashley Young, there is a potential for Fabio Capello to take a close look at Alex against Holland at the end of next month, which also gives the player a few more opportunities to impress for club before getting a call from his country.

Though only 18 last August, Oxlade-Chamberlain has had a blistering start for the Under-21s, and Stuart Pearce is bound to have offered Capello glowing reports of the youngster who scored a hat-trick against Iceland in October, but has also contributed with several assists as well as offering a real cutting edge to the young side being put together by Pearce.

It would appear that Arsene Wenger is managing his prospect carefully and in my opinion the Frenchman was treated harshly by his own fans who jeered their manager for taking off the youngster early, without the knowledge that Alex was ill the day before the game and also was suffering from a minor calf strain, and for all of their complaints, I`m sure the safety first policy of Wenger is far better than seeing such a bright prospect suffer long term injury after being pushed too far too early because their club is struggling this season.

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