Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Winning the FA Cup will save Arsenal’s sorry season

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted Arsenal have failed to progress at the same pace as their Premier League rivals, but believes an FA Cup Final win can provide a foundation for success next season.

The Gunners missed out on securing Champions League football for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s 21-year reign after finishing in fifth place, despite amassing 75 points - four more than last term, when they were runners-up to Leicester.

Arsenal had hoped the FA Cup victories of 2014 and 2015 would provide a platform for greater success, but the club have struggled to mount a serious challenge at home and abroad, amid sustained calls for Wenger to walk away from the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

However, Arsenal beat modest opposition in their previous Cup wins and the prospect of defeating Chelsea in tomorrow’s Wembley showpiece after ousting Manchester City in last month’s semi-final gives Oxlade-Chamberlain cause for optimism.

“The season’s been an odd one,” said the 23-year-old midfielder. “If you look at the table, I think we finished on 75 points. In other years that might have put us in different situations, but times change and you’ve got to move forward with the other top teams.

“We’ve failed to do that in the League this year, which is why we’ve missed out on the top four. But we’ve given ourselves an opportunity to win a trophy. When you’re in football, winning trophies is what it’s all about.

“It will obviously be a bonus this season to finish on a more positive note. There will obviously be that feeling of wanting to finish higher up the League. There’s no doubting that and we can’t hide from it. We need to own up to that.

“But the FA Cup’s a big trophy, one that we want to win - and it will definitely boost morale going into next season.”

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Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to win his fitness race after returning to full training on Saturday after missing the last three matches with a hamstring problem.

“I feel good,” he said. “Once I picked up the injury, the main focus was to get back for the Final. I’ve put myself in contention and that’s all I can do.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future beyond the weekend is uncertain, given he has little more than a year left on his existing contract and there is speculation over a move to Liverpool, Manchester City or West Ham.

Wenger has publicly declared the club want to keep him and it is believed he will be offered a deal in the region of £100,000 a week when talks begin next month.

However, Oxlade-Chamberlain refused to be drawn on the subject. “I’m not here to talk about my future,” he said. “I’m here to talk about the FA Cup Final, so I’ll leave that for now.”