‘You must deal with the highs and lows’

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says this season has taught him how to deal with the highs and lows of professional football.

After playing in the opening game of the campaign, the England international then spent five months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

But, since his return in January, the 20-year-old has caught the eye with his pace and dynamism, and he is satisfied with his progress.

“There have been a lot of up and downs,” Oxlade-Chamberlain told Arsenal Player. “Five months [out injured] is not what you want, but I have learnt a lot from my time out about how to deal with something like that.

“If you have a 15-year career, there is a good chance you will spend time on the sidelines injured. The fact I have had that experience early in my career is maybe a positive because I know how to deal with the situation.

“But obviously it hindered the start of my season and it was almost like I had to play catch-up during the back end of things to get back in and around the side. We were doing well, winning games and had a lot of quality people all over the pitch and even on the bench.

“To come back from an injury into that environment is really good and what you want - but it does make it challenging. Since I have come back, unfortunately some other people have got injured but that has given me a chance to play and get some game time. I feel that I’ve done alright, and hopefully I can only get stronger.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain has impressed whether playing out wide or in central midfield – although one game he is keen to forget is the defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

“It was horrible really,” he said. “On the nights of those [type of] games you are really down in the dumps and anything that people say to you winds you up. You don't want to speak to anyone or hear from anyone.

“But you have to address what went wrong. When we played at Chelsea I did that pretty much straight away that night and the next day I tried to focus on the next game. That is what you have to do in football, anything can happen and you never know what is around the corner.

“You just have to be prepared to deal with the highs and lows. When you do have a good time, you have to enjoy it a bit more because the bad times can be really bad.”