Boy wonder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will sign for Arsenal as Arsene Wenger wins £10m chase for teenager

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will end the chase for the teenager rated the most talented in English football.

Every major Premier League club, including Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle United, have been tracking Southampton boy wonder Alex Chamberlain.

Rare talent: Alex Chamberlain

But the 17-year-old midfielder visited Arsenal's training ground on Friday, met manager Wenger and will sign a £10million deal after talks with chief executive Ivan Gatzidis on Wednesday.

Only a last-minute offer from City could disrupt the move but Chamberlain, the son of former England winger Mark Chamberlain, and his advisers will choose the club they believe will best help the teenager develop.

Arsenal's record in furthering the careers of England's Theo Walcott - also signed from Southampton as a teenager - and Welsh star Aaron Ramsey is understood to have convinced him.

They have yet to finalise a fee with Southampton but Saints will not stand in Chamberlain's way.

Hot property: Arsenal have moved quickly for Chamberlain

An initial payment of £7m is likely to be followed by supplementary fees when the England Under-18 international reaches the first team.

Arsenal may even loan Chamberlain back to Saints for the rest of the season. He made his League One debut as a substitute last March at the age of 16 years and 199 days, making him the secondyoungest player in the club's history, after Walcott.

A goal on his full Saints debut in the Carling Cup clash with Bournemouth in August highlighted his potential and he signed a professional contract at St Mary's that month.

Chamberlain, booked yesterday in Saints' 2-0 defeat at Tranmere, has impressed the top clubs with his range of passing and all-round vision.

He also has great pace, inherited from his father, who won eight England caps while playing for Stoke in the Eighties.



