Why Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is £35million well spent by Liverpool

In one of the biggest deals on deadline day, Arsenal wing-back Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain moved north from the London club to join Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

The Englishman, who is currently on duty with the national side, signed on a five-year deal worth £120,000-per-week for a reported £35 million fee, as per BBC Sport.

Like with any deal, there are those who benefit and those who suffer. Here are the three winners and three losers from Oxlade-Chamberlain’s move to Liverpool.

The winners

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Chamberlain joins a thriving Liverpool team, who look incredibly impressive this season, and one who are more likely to play him in his favoured central midfield position. One of the reasons he wanted to leave Arsenal is due to the persistence of Arsene Wenger to play him in a right wing-back role.

A further plus point is the fact that the Reds are in the Champions League, unlike Arsenal, and with a World Cup next summer, playing in the best competitions is vital to ensure the 24-year-old guarantees a spot on the plane to Russia.

Jurgen Klopp

With Liverpool looking to compete on all fronts this season, depth will be vital to Jurgen Klopp and Oxlade-Chamberlain provides exactly that.

The Englishman is a player that can feature anywhere across the midfield and as a winger, something that is sure to come in handy as the season continues.

Hector Bellerin

Finally, the Spaniard can be put out of his misery. Bellerin has looked unstable at left wing-back and with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s departure comes a likely move over to the right.

The Spain international looks much stronger bombing down the right and moving to his favoured side will hopefully help Arsenal pick up some positive results. Sead Kolasinac, who joined on a free this summer, should enter the starting XI at left-back and his power could prove to be a real asset for the Gunners.

The losers

Thomas Lemar

After signing Oxlade-Chamberlain, Liverpool decided to pass on signing Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, much to the Frenchman’s annoyance.

The France international only ‘had eyes for Liverpool’, according to L’Equipe, as referenced by the Metro and Liverpool Echo. It seems as though Lemar will have to wait a little longer until he ends up on Merseyside.

Chelsea 

Having set the 5-2-2-1 formation trend, the tactic has come back to haunt Chelsea. Oxlade-Chamberlain wants to play in central midfield and Antonio Conte planned to use him in a wing-back, something he’d been trying to avoid at Arsenal.

Chelsea, instead, signed Davide Zappacosta from Torino for a reported £23 million, according to theMetro.

Aaron Ramsey

The Welsh midfielder had a bit of a nightmare after posting a tribute to Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ramsey used the hashtag ‘#shaaambles’ which was perceived as a jibe towards Arsenal’s poor transfer window, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The Gunners’ man moved to clear the hashtag, suggesting that it was a training ground nickname for the English winger.

ARIS