Arsenal plot shock transfer swoop for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after seeing former star slip down Liverpool pecking order
ARSENAL are considering a shock swoop for former player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The Liverpool midfield star, 28, spent six years at the Emirates before a £35million move to Anfield in the summer of 2017.
Now he is weighing up the prospect of a reunion with his former Gunners team-mate Mikel Arteta in the January transfer window.
The Ox has become frustrated with his lack of opportunities since helping Jurgen Klopp’s team win their first Premier League title two years ago.
A knee injury ruled him out of the first four months of last season and he has only started four games for Liverpool since.
He is starting to feel he needs a fresh challenge, despite his £125,000-a-week contract running until 2023.
Liverpool are unlikely to stand in the way of a player who has slipped behind youngsters Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott in Klopp’s midfield pecking order.
But they would still want a reasonable fee for a man who has 35 England caps, even though it is now two years since he last played for his country.
Arsenal are interested in an initial six-month loan with the possibility of a permanent deal at the end of the season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has a good relationship with Arteta, who also joined Arsenal in the summer of 2011, with both playing a part in the FA Cup successes in 2014 and 2015.
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The Gunners paid £15million when they bought the 17-year-old Ox from Southampton and he quickly established himself as a fans favourite.
Now Arteta is considering whether his experience could prove an asset to help develop young Arsenal stars such as Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.
And with Granit Xhaka ruled out for three months by a knee injury and Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny at the African Cup of Nations in January, Arsenal are going to need all the midfield help they can get.
A return to London could also benefit Oxlade-Chamberlain’s family life after his partner Perrie Edwards gave birth to their first child in August.