Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain chose to leave Arsenal this summer, but is his Liverpool move working out?
Time is a rare luxury in modern football, and new signings don’t get given too much of it before they are adjudged a hit or miss.
A couple of months on from the summer transfer window, HITC is grading the first impressions made by the new arrivals.
Here we take a closer look at the man who swapped Arsenal for Liverpool – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The England international left the Emirates Stadium after six years for a fresh start and for more opportunities in his preferred central midfield role.
So far, those opportunities have not been forthcoming, with the 24-year-old making only three starts for the Reds in all competitions and nine substitute appearances, mostly on the right wing.
A goal against West Ham United last weekend opened his Premier League account for the Merseysiders, but a lack of club action has seen him dropped by England.
Establishing himself as a regular for Jurgen Klopp is going to be even tougher when all of Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana are fit for the first time this season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain does have the energy and the physicality to play Klopp’s high-intensity style, but does not have the quality on the ball that many of his new teammates possess.
As he was at Arsenal, ‘The Ox’ will never be more than a squad player at Anfield, which, at £40m according to The Guardian, is a luxury Klopp cannot afford when his defence is so porous.
He may turn out to be a decent signing, but he is not the signing Liverpool needed this summer.
Grade: C-
SEE MORE: Grading Liverpool’s summer signings – Mohamed Salah
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