Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain insists he has learned to manage expectations

Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain insists that he has learnt a lot of lessons since moving to the Emirates from Southampton in 2011 and that now he can meet the expectations in a better manner. The 23-year-old has started in three games so far in the league and scored against Liverpool, where he came off the bench to reduce the deficit at the Emirates, but failed to secure a point for the Gunners, with Arsenal losing the game 4-3.

Chamberlain hit the target again against Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup, scoring the fourth goal in a neat interplay with new signing Lucas Perez. He is now in contention for a start against Chelsea this weekend, with the Gunners looking to make it four consecutive wins in the league after an underwhelming start to the campaign.

Chamberlain revealed that he is now looking to grow as a player and bring the best out of himself, such that he can finally reach his potential. He went on to add that it is only the last six months that he has got around to dealing with the criticism and believes that he can move forward on that path as he still has age on his side.

"I'm the type of person that tends to care a lot about what people are saying and what people are thinking," Chamberlain told Arsenal's official website. "I think as I've grown older I've learnt that you really can't please everyone.

"As I've got older, the pressure on myself and the expectations go up. You need to find a way to manage that the best for yourself and I'll be honest, it's not until recently, the last six months to a year or so, that I've fully got my head around how to go about that with dealing with people's expectations on me and my own expectations. It can be hard and I still think I'm quite young, I've just turned 23 and now it's focusing on how to push myself further and better myself as a player."