Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain needed ‘new challenge’ after ‘standing still’ under Arsene Wenger – Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Redknapp has praised Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for ‘challenging’ himself by leaving Arsenal to join Liverpool last summer.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, 24, spent six years at the Emirates after being signed by Arsene Wenger from Southampton in 2011.
Despite winning two FA Cups during his spell at Arsenal, Redknapp says he was ‘standing still’ under Wenger and needed the move to progress as a player.
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Oxlade-Chamberlain, a £35million signing for Jurgen Klopp, endured a subdued start to his career at Anfield but has impressed in recent weeks and scored in the 5-0 thrashing over Swansea City on Boxing Day.
‘I wasn’t sure about the move for him to start with and I was wondering how he was going to do, but he has surprised me,’ former Liverpool midfielder Redknapp told Sky Sports.
‘I looked at him at Arsenal and it was like he was treading water and going nowhere, but under Jurgen Klopp I am seeing a completely different player. I am seeing he is fit, with a great attitude and wanting to win tackles.
‘It’s probably unfair to question how he was coached under Arsene Wenger but I watched him play and I didn’t feel he developed for years. It looked like he was standing still. I feel a lot of players at Arsenal are in a similar situation.
‘You can go and sign a new contract and say “OK, I’ll be on the bench”, but he has taken a risk in his career. He could have stayed at Arsenal and signed a new contract but he wanted to challenge himself and has gone to live up north and given himself a chance to play in the first team.
‘He wasn’t guaranteed a spot but he is in now and it will be hard to dispossess him of the shirt.
‘It was a really bold move for him and one that is really paying off. Look at how much he is improving, he has got fitter, stronger, and he is a different player than he was at Arsenal.’
Liverpool’s emphatic win over struggling Swansea saw them move up to fourth in the Premier League and Redknapp said Klopp’s side are ‘as good as anyone’ going forward.
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‘They frustrate you because they are so good at times, you think if they could find a way of stopping those silly goals they concede they could theoretically be the team to challenge Manchester City in years to come,’ he added.
‘It’s just the defence that worries me because going forward they are a dream. They have so much pace going forward and are as good as anybody, when they are purring they are amazing to watch, and they have options, they didn’t even have [Sadio] Mane today. They have players that can do special things.’
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