Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain never could live up to his potential in the Arsenal ranks but has found life to be more rewarding with Liverpool.
Granted the 25-year-old is serving a prolonged period on the sidelines and could be out for the entire 2018/19 season but there is no doubt about where he has looked his best. He was signed by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2011 but the contractual agreement was never revealed to the press.
Chamberlain went on to play 6 seasons for the Gunners, appearing in 198 games across all competition and recording 20 goals and 32 assists. His Arsenal career was crippled with recurring injuries which also played a significant part in him being considered as a club starter.
However, the fans also noticed Chamberlain being underutilised on certain occasions, being brought on as a substitute very late into games when Wenger absolutely needed a fresh attacking threat.
The latest revelation by football writer Alan Gernon is that Oxlade-Chamberlain’s scarce minutes for Arsenal had a significant reason behind it. Gernon claims in his new book, The Transfer Market: The Inside Stories that a clause in the Englishman’s contract meant every time he played 20 minutes for Arsenal, they owed Southampton £10,000.
One can see how expensive it truly became for Arsenal to keep Ox on the pitch. More often than not, in sport, such bizarre clauses are included in player’s contracts. The media outlets often highlight the transfer fee and the original salary players are offered weekly.
However, it could also be simply a conspiracy. Oxlade-Chamberlain, while a highly talented footballer was often inconsistent on the pitch. His injuries kept him glued to the sidelines for the majority of his tenure at Emirates.
Other than being a traditional winger, the 25-year-old could never hold onto a single position as a starter for long. Wenger used him almost everywhere on the pitch – wings, attacking midfield, defensive midfield, fullback, striker and both as a starter and as a sub.
Oxlade-Chamberlain served as an ideal squad player but could never become the bonafide star he was thought out to be, coming out Southampton. Nevertheless, he is happy to be under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield and Arsenal have taken a new direction under Unai Emery.
