Rice lauds Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice has urged Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to maintain his form after netting his first UEFA Champions League goal against Olympiakos on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old's eighth-minute strike against the Greek side meant he beat the record of team-mate Theo Walcott to become the youngest English player ever to score in the Champions League.

The goal in the eventual 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium caps a fine week for the former Southampton youngster, who also scored in the Carling Cup victory over Shrewsbury last Tuesday.

With Arsene Wenger serving the final match of his touchline ban it was Gunners assistant Rice who spoke after the game, and he has challenged Chamberlain to build on that goal and embark on a consistent run of form.

Not stupid

"He can go inside, he can go outside, he's got that injection of pace and I think what he needs now is to be consistent in his play," Rice told the club's official website.

"I am sure that is something he will be working on because he's certainly not a stupid boy. From Arsenal supporters' point of view, they are going to be seeing a lot of this boy."

Reflecting on the hard-earned win, Rice admitted the players faded after a bright opening, but was pleased with the way his side held on for the points.

"For 15-20 minutes we maybe lost our way and they came back into it. Second half we had to knuckle in, fight and get our shape right which I thought we did," added Rice.