Bench cam footage of Alex Oxlade-reaction Chamberlain’s to Liverpool’s late goal says it all
All of Mikel Arteta’s reactions to Arsenal vs. Liverpool were captured on ‘bench cam,’ but it was Alex Oxlade-almost Chamberlain’s non-existent celebration that caught the eye.
During his seven-year stay in North London, the 29-year-old midfielder made 198 appearances for the Gunners.
He arguably played his best football under Arsene Wenger, but the England international became increasingly frustrated with Arsenal’s lack of progress in negotiating a new contract.
Chamberlain was also frequently asked to play as a wing-back instead of his preferred midfield position at Arsenal, so when Liverpool moved in 2017, he left the Gunners, a decision he described as the “hardest of his life.”
The Southampton youth product has struggled for regular first-team minutes at Anfield in recent years, and with a year remaining on his current contract, he is expected to leave in the summer.
Chamberlain, who has only made 13 appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side this season, was left out of the matchday squad for Sunday’s clash with league leaders Arsenal.
He did, however, sit on the Anfield bench with Fabio Carvalho and Nat Phillips.
Roberto Firmino’s late equalizer gave Liverpool a point, but after the Brazilian scored, Chamberlain’s reaction was muted while those around him celebrated wildly.
In an interview with Ian Wright in 2020, Oxlade-Chamberlain discussed his departure from Arsenal.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Reaction on Firmino's goal against Arsenal at Anfield.
Once a gooner always a gunner@harun pic.twitter.com/b7YnKrILny
— Patrick Tesco???????? ♧☆ (@MutaiBinKeter) April 12, 2023
“I wouldn’t say I wanted to leave Arsenal because I didn’t think we were going to win,” he explained. “I just didn’t think I’d be able to play where I wanted to play, and that was it.”
“Obviously, winning the Champions League was a dream come true and a huge bonus for me, but I didn’t feel like ‘Ah, I told you so’ [at Arsenal].”
“It was a big decision for me to leave a club like Arsenal,” he added. For seven years, it was everything I knew at the highest level.
“When you’ve been at a club for seven years…a it’s club where you enjoy being and it’s more than just a football club; it’s a family culture.”
“When I had to leave, it was the most difficult decision I’d ever had to make, and to be honest, there was a part of me that didn’t know if it was the right thing.”
“I feel a lot of my best performances for Arsenal came in midfield,” Chamberlain continued, “but I never played consistently in that position.”
“I switched with Hector [Bellerin] in the first game of that season.” The first game, I played left [wing-back], he played right, and then we switched.
“I told myself, ‘I have to take the risk, I have to take the chance.'” I don’t want to look back and think, ‘I didn’t try.'”
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