Jurgen Klopp has described Alex Oxalde-Chamberlain’s deadline day move from Arsenal to Liverpool as a “kind of a relief” for the player (via The Guardian).
It was more than a little surprising to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain swap Arsenal for Liverpool on deadline day this summer.
Few expected the Englishman to leave the Emirates after his increasing role in the team last year but the Ox made his move up north just days after playing for the Gunners against Liverpool.
Now, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has spoken about his new signing as well as the reasoning behind Oxlade-Chamberlain’s move.
“I thought it made complete sense for Alex to change club and to come here,” Klopp said. “So far, I can’t see that [he lacks self-belief]. He has settled in perfectly. He knows the situation.
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“He played all the games for Arsenal from the beginning and now he comes here and is on the bench so it looks ‘Oh, not the best decision’ but it is a long-term thing. We want to use him and to prepare him also. It is all good from this side at the moment.”
Klopp was then asked if he thought now was the right time for Oxlade-Chamberlain to kick on and reach that next step as a player.
“It would be strange for me to say it after two and half weeks when Arsène Wenger said this after working with him for six years. But a new start is very often a kind of relief, that’s how it is.
“You are in a situation with your old club – and I don’t say this about Alex specifically – and you accept it and it is difficult to make the next step.”
There’s no doubt that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a talented footballer. He showed it on occasion for Arsenal and has certainly grown in the last few months. However, he was hugely inconsistent and has been discussed at length, is still a little uncertain about his best position. Arsenal got a good price for a player who didn’t want to be at the club.
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