---
title: "Profit Players: Arsenal’s sale of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool was an all-round good deal"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/profit-players-arsenals-sale-of-alex-oxlade-chamberlain-to-liverpool-was-an-all-round-good-deal/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Stephan Georgiou"
section: "Arsenal Football Club"
published: "2019-11-24T07:45:41Z"
modified: "2019-11-24T07:45:41Z"
---

# Profit Players: Arsenal’s sale of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool was an all-round good deal

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Profit-Players-1.png)

**This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.**

It could be fair to say that Arsenal are not the greatest when it comes to selling their players. Last summer, [Aaron Ramsey](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47203118) left for nothing, while there was no financial gain from [Alexis Sanchez’s](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42697836) departure to Manchester United a year-and-a-half earlier.

Meanwhile, they may be ruing letting [Serge Gnabry](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37218460) go for just £4.5m ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-arsenal/transfers/verein/11/saison_id/2016)), with the German [showcasing his talents](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49872949) on the continental stage.

But in 2017, Arsenal arguably bucked the trend when they sold [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41098529) to Liverpool for £35m.

While the England man is in good form, scoring for both [club](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50294376) and [country](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50327100) in recent weeks, at the time of his departure, it could be said that such a fee overvalued Oxlade-Chamberlain’s abilities, and potentially helped Arsenal to secure the services of goal machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

So while Liverpool got their man, it seemed as though Arsenal could justify their decision to let their player go to a direct rival.

Oxlade-Chamberlain may have had good reason to want to leave Arsenal. The club had not long [failed to qualify](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39912025) for the Champions League as their [domestic form](https://www.skysports.com/arsenal-results/2016-17) dipped horrendously – with their late-season revival and [FA Cup triumph](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39984089) over champions Chelsea not enough to keep the midfielder at the Emirates Stadium.

Though while Liverpool may have bought ‘The Ox’ after one of his better seasons in a Gunners shirt, the stats may suggest that’s not saying much at all.

The 2016/17 season saw Oxlade-Chamberlain net [six times](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/alex-oxlade-chamberlain/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/143424) – the most he had managed since moving from Southampton in 2011 for a reported [£15m](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/14448089).

A [glut of injuries](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/alex-oxlade-chamberlain/verletzungen/spieler/143424) had halted his progress in North London and his status in the Gunners squad was by no means consistent – owing much to his [lengthy periods](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/alex-oxlade-chamberlain/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/143424/plus/0?saison=&verein=11&liga=&wettbewerb=&pos=&trainer_id=) on the sidelines.

Those troubles had seemed to have followed him to Anfield, as he was ruled out of the World Cup having only recently returned at the back-end of last season after recovering from a [serious knee problem](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/18/alex-oxlade-chamberlain-out-for-season-knee-injury-liverpool) to lift the Champions League with Liverpool.

So in accruing £35m – more than the Reds paid for [Mohamed Salah](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40345138) – for a player with a modest yet unremarkable goalscoring record, and following it with the subsequent sales of [Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/arsenal-fc/transfers/verein/11/plus/0?saison_id=2017&pos=&detailpos=&w_s=) by funding a second [club-record move](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42859716) in six months, although Liverpool’s investment may be showing signs of paying off, it seems Arsenal are still continuing to reap the rewards of his sale.

\[freshpress-poll id=”257120″\]

***Arsenal fans, did Liverpool over-pay for Oxlade-Chamberlain? Let us know in the comments below!***