Is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ever going to get a central-midfield chance at Liverpool?
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can count himself disappointed not to have started in midfield for Liverpool in the Champions League last night.
The Reds demolished Maribor 7-0 in Slovenia and although second-half sub Oxlade-Chamberlain got in on the act for his first Liverpool goal on 86 minutes, he could be forgiven if it felt like something of a hollow victory.
The former Arsenal man joined Jurgen Klopp’s side in a £40 million deal on the basis that he would be given chances to impress in a central-midfield role – something denied to him by Arsene Wenger in North London.
But the German manager elected to play James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum ahead of him in the middle after resting captain Jordan Henderson, and the former Southampton product might be worried by such a snub.
If there was a game for Klopp to experiment with Oxlade-Chamberlain in a central role then it was surely this one and you wonder how the man himself will feel about not getting it.
He can’t question Klopp’s decision after Milner produced such a brilliant performance, but you wonder whether he is anywhere nearer to getting a centre-mid role than he was at Arsenal.
With his goal and his cameo against Man United at the weekend, there are undeniable signs of progress, but not in regards to playing in his preferred position and that could and should worry him.
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