Wrong Move Ox! – Why Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Will Regret His Move Away From Arsenal
Paying £40million for a relatively unproven midfielder who was in the final year of his contract might be a crazy thing to do but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp definitely did not think like that, as he signed Alex Oxlade Chamberlain from Arsenal this summer.
It’s quite surprising how a midfielder who has spent over 6 years in the Premier League playing for a club like Arsenal only managed to score 9 goals in the English top tier. Yes, he might have only started in fifty percent of the games, but Chamberlain’s CV certainly doesn’t live up to the £40million that the Reds paid for him. The fact that Mohamed Salah who already has 4 goals in 6 games could well surpass Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 6-year tally at Arsenal, before Christmas, says it all.
Ox is definitely talented, young and filled with potential but is there really anything new or exciting that he offers to the Liverpool side? What does he add to Jurgen Klopp’s squad which doesn’t already exist? We could say depth but that doesn’t answer his demand of playing first-team football and particularly in a midfield role which is one of the main reasons he rejected Chelsea and chose Liverpool.
But with players like Philippe Coutinho, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Emre Can, Gino Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson already way ahead in the pecking order, there is simply no way for Chamberlain to get regular first-team football.
The arrival of Naby Keita next summer would only make it even more complicated for the English youngster. It’s quite evident that he won’t be playing week in week out for the Reds this season but Jurgen Klopp will certainly give the youngster a more regular place in the future. But that doesn’t necessarily guarantee his success because he has really tough competition from his fellow midfield teammates.
The only real hope that Oxlade Chamberlain has at Liverpool FC is the club’s charismatic manager, Jurgen Klopp. The German boss has a history of developing young talent with immense potential and Chamberlain certainly ticks all the boxes when it comes to Klopp’s style of play.
That being said, Chamberlain has a lot to live up to at a club like Liverpool and will have to work harder than he ever has so far in his career, to find success. English players are always a target for the media and Chamberlain can be brought under immense pressure, especially given that he is one of Liverpool’s most expensive signings.
It’s game on Ox!
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