Wenger keen to keep Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists he wants to keep Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the club.

The England international is out of contract in 2018 and reports have suggested talks are yet to begin over an extension.

Wenger was reluctant to discuss the ongoing contract negotiations involving Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, but stressed Oxlade-Chamberlain was a player he wants to keep.

"I want Oxlade-Chamberlain to stay at the club," Wenger said ahead of Arsenal's trip to Everton on Tuesday.

"I bought him at a very young age and think he is developing well.

"This season he is making steps and moving forward. Overall we have invested so much time and work in the player.

"The player loves it here, he is integrated and has the qualities we want him to have. We want him to stay."   

Wenger insisted Oxlade-Chamberlain’s position as a winger means he is more likely to be substituted after club legend Ian Wright suggested the 23-year-old was frustrated at not getting the full 90 minutes in matches.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been taken off in six of his seven Premier League starts this season.

"We are a squad of 25 people," added Wenger.

"Some managers want even more changes in the game. It's a position where the physical demands are most important and one that is subject more to being changed than a central defender.

"In some positions the changes are more frequent. The position has demands that are higher than any other on the flanks – you have to be up and down, dangerous going forward.

"Oxlade-Chamberlain is much more efficient going forward now. He provided a good final ball for Ozil [against Stoke City] on Saturday and can score goals himself, that’s what you want from him."