Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continues to shine for England as well as Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Gareth Southgate has labelled Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as the ideal player for his England midfield, telling the Times that the Liverpool star is nothing short of ‘perfect’ in an all-action, box-to-box role.
It is hard to believe, when watching Oxlade-Chamberlain dart around the pitch with purpose and class, that he missed almost the whole of last season with a serious knee injury.
The 26-year-old has been a revelation for since returning to action for Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League leaders, scoring stunning long-range goals against Genk and Arsenal, and he has taken his outstanding form onto the international stage.
Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring in England’s 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro on Thursday and impressed once more alongside Declan Rice and the imperious Harry Winks during Sunday’s 4-0 win in Kosovo.
No wonder Southgate was thrilled to welcome the former Gunners star, whose energy and skill would have been so useful in the ill-fated World Cup semi-final of 2018, back into the fold.
“In terms of the attributes for the position, Alex is perfect because you need guys that can defend, and it’s obvious the attacking talent that he has and the forward runs that he made at Wembley the other night and a couple of times tonight,” said the former Middlesbrough coach.
“But against the top teams and against the opposition tonight, we needed people who could do both sides of the game and he really fits that profile brilliantly.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain certainly looked the part in Kosovo and his ability to harass opponents all over the pitch before driving forwards with thrust and speed should come in very handy against top opposition as Southgate turns his sights towards Euro 2020.
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