LONDON -- Arsene Wenger has insisted he wants Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to stay at Arsenal after "moving forward" this season, but warned he may have to settle for often being substituted because of the physical demands of playing as a winger.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, 23, has impressed after overtaking Alex Iwobi -- temporarily at least -- as a regular starter on the left flank in the Premier League recently and set up a goal for Mesut Ozil with a perfect floated pass in the 3-1 win over Stoke City on Saturday.
The England international has six goals and six assists for the campaign despite only starting 11 of Arsenal's 24 games in all competitions, and said in October after a spell on the bench that he may have to consider his future at the club next summer.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who joined from Southampton as a teenager, only has 18 months left on his Gunners contract, but Wenger reiterated that he wants to extend the deal.
"I want Oxlade-Chamberlain to stay at the club. I bought him at a very young age, I think he's developing well. This season he's making steps and moving forward," Wenger said at a news conference on Monday ahead of Tuesday's Premier League game at Everton.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has struggled for a consistent run of games in Wenger's side throughout his career, although that has often been because of injuries.
This season, he and Theo Walcott are both showing good form after returning to full fitness, and Wenger said their ability to stay healthy has contributed to their development.
"Oxlade-Chamberlain's career, like Theo Walcott's career, has been stopped many, many times by injuries. He has had many, many setbacks," Wenger said. "I think it's the first season where he has had a consistency of presence.
"They play as well in positions where maybe the physical demands are higher than in any other position. On the flanks today you need to come up and down, you need to defend, you need to be dangerous going forward. So you need to find a good balance, and it demands a little bit of experience.
"Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is much more efficient going forward now, and he can provide. He provided a good final ball for Ozil on Saturday and he can score goals himself, that's what you want from him."
Still, Oxlade-Chamberlain has often found himself either coming off the bench or being taken off the pitch midway through the second half. The 5-1 win over West Ham on Dec. 4, when he scored one goal and set up another, was the first Premier League game of the season where he completed 90 minutes.
And while Wenger acknowledged that may be frustrating, he said it is also natural to replace tiring wingers with fresh legs.
"It's a position where the physical demands are the most important, and they are subject more to being changed than a central defender," Wenger said. "There are some positions where changes are more frequent, and more normal as well."