Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his feelings clear when Liverpool scored against Arsenal
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's reaction was spotted on the Anfield bench when a late Roberto Firmino header saw his Liverpool equalise against Arsenal, while dampening the Gunners' title hopes
by Ben Crawford · The MirrorAlex Oxlade-Chamberlain once had a muted reaction to a late Liverpool equaliser against his then former team Arsenal.
Arne Slot’s high-flying Reds are set to do battle with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners at the Emirates on Sunday in what promises to be a pivotal early-season clash where the Premier League title is concerned.
Sparks often fly when the two meet in the Premier League, and none more so than when they squared off at Anfield in April 2023. Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus gave the visitors a 2-0 lead after half an hour, but a spirited comeback – despite a 54th–minute Mohamed Salah penalty miss – was sealed by a last-gasp Roberto Firmino equaliser.
In this draw, which ended up being one of many poor results to derail the Gunners' title challenge that term, then-Liverpool ace Oxlade-Chamberlain was spotted on the Reds bench when Firmino’s header found the back of the net, and his reaction was incredibly respectful.
The midfielder, who now plays for Turkish side Besiktas having left Anfield in the summer of 2023, spent six years in north London before jumping ship for Merseyside in 2017 – having been reluctant to play as a winger near the end of his Arsenal tenure.
His career at Liverpool was largely derailed by injuries – which have also seen him miss notable time in Turkey – and he failed to truly break into Jurgen Klopp’s first team. Therefore, he manned the bench when his former team came to visit.
During this match, Arsenal recorded manager Arteta on the touchline, capturing his reaction to all the goals and incidents. However, their former player could be spotted during the celebrations after the late equaliser.
As the Spanish boss threw his hands in the air in frustration, Oxlade-Chamberlain could be seen standing up to get a better view before giving a mild clap and returning to his seat – evidently wishing to withhold his celebrations to offer some respect for his former employers.
However, despite his obvious love for the club that helped nurture him after he left Southampton, Oxlade-Chamberlain did go on to admit that the mentality on Merseyside is perhaps a tad stronger than that at the Emirates – which could hint as to which way the tides may turn come this afternoon.
"At Arsenal, we always went into those big games thinking, ‘this is going to be really tough,’" he told The Athletic. "That was the biggest difference at Liverpool where, even in the first season (2017/18) when we were a bit of an unknown entity, there was this unbelievable complete and utter focus where there was nothing else happening but us winning the game.
"I don’t know why, but at Liverpool, the big games, we just knew we were going to win. We won FA Cups [At Arsenal], but we probably never achieved what we should have done."
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