Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can't leave his mark on the Arsenal first team at the moment but he's used his injury lay-off to good effect.
The England international sparkled in pre-season but a promising campaign was interrupted by a knee problem suffered in the opening game of the season, against Aston Villa at home.
The likes of Thomas Vermaelen used their time on the sidelines to improve their physical strength and tactical knowhow and Oxlade-Chamberlain is no different.
"You do get to watch the game from a different aspect," he told Arsenal Player.
"Sometimes the game looks so much easier when you're sat up there because you can see all the spaces and when you're on the pitch everything looks completely different."
"I watch every home game from higher up and you see a lot more of the pitch there. Sometimes the game looks so much easier when you're sat up there because you can see all the spaces and when you're on the pitch everything looks completely different.
"You do learn things when you watch it from a different angle, especially when you're watching the boys play and how the team's playing and how we're moving and the people in your position.
"That can definitely help, for me I think I've taken this opportunity really to work on myself in a more physical way, in a more physical aspect, looking at areas of my body and strengthening different areas. Stuff like your hips that you wouldn't really think about strengthening prior to getting an injury like this.
"I think people who have had long-term injuries will be able to tell you that you don't understand how important little things like hip stability and your core is and your pelvis. All the little things like this can help to prevent injuries so I've been doing loads of that to give myself the best chance of coming back stronger and then preventing any niggles and injuries in the future."
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