Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is in the perfect place to grow into a contender for England's Euro 2012 squad.

The all-action performance of the 18-year-old - signed from Southampton in a £12million deal last summer - was one of few positives for the Gunners after their 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose substitution last weekend caused frustration among some of the Emirates Stadium fans, has shrugged off a calf problem and is expected to again be in the thick of the action against Aston Villa in Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round tie.

Star: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain impressed against Manchester United

Wenger sees no reason why with more games under his belt, the powerful attacking midfielder, who has already played in the Champions League, should not follow team-mate Theo Walcott into contention for Fabio Capello's squad in Poland and Ukraine.

'You cannot rule it out and it is not because you are young that you cannot play. We will see in the next three months and if he does well, why not?' said Wenger.

'We live in a world of immediacy. I would not have expected him to be so mature in September because he still looked like a boy. Now suddenly he looks like he can take pressure and that he has the personality to produce under pressure.

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