“A lot of people don’t see, when we lose and go through tough times, how upset and disappointed we are.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Versatility is an extra string to a player’s bow.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“If you are good friends with someone, you get to know them better and their strengths and weaknesses. You have that respect for each other, and you learn the way one another play.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“It’s nice when you know the crowd are on your side. I can only repay them by working my hardest when I do get on and trying to impress them.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Obviously, everyone goes in the gym and does the biceps bells and the bench press, but when you’re injured, you work on your core, your pelvic floor, your groins, on glutes, and muscles you wouldn’t really know about. It does make you a stronger player all round in terms of injury prevention.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Me being myself, I’m not happy when I’m not playing.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You have to believe in yourself. If you don’t, no one else will.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“In my head, I was like any young kid: ‘I’m going to be a footballer.’ But at the same time, my mum and dad were making me do my schoolwork, and that was important.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Getting stronger and fitter by playing games is only going to help me.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I can take so much from someone like Mo Salah.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“At a massive club like Liverpool, people will come and go. It is our job to keep the wheels moving and momentum going.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“All managers make decisions, and sometimes they are right, and sometimes people say they are wrong.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Clubs will lose great players, and great players will come in.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’ve got a lot of very fond memories playing football from the ages of four.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Arsenal have a great manager in Arsene Wenger, top quality players and an attractive style of play. These were all important factors in me choosing to sign for Arsenal.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“It takes time to settle in and learn a new formation and style of play.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Whenever you’re playing on the pitch, you have to step up to the plate and perform.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“To do well at a new competition, you need a lot of good performances.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’m so excited to be joining Arsenal. It’s a fantastic club, and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of playing football at the highest level.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“In the long run, it’s probably better to tie yourself down to one position and really become established in one area to be as good as you can in that position.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Throughout your career, you will always be asked to play slightly different positions here and there, and obviously, the needs of the team come first, so if you need to fill in at a different position, you’ll be expected to do that.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“It’s important for any player to be versatile enough to be able to play in different positions.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’ve played so many games of football now, and even though it is at a higher level, at the end of the day, football is football. You are just playing with better players.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Playing in a team like Arsenal helps massively having all of these players around you giving you advice. When they are playing well, you feel comfortable, and it helps you to play well, too.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Everyone in the Premier League feels pressure to get results. It is part of being a footballer.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Ever since I’ve been at Arsenal, we’ve had numerous quality players, and the whole squad had been very strong. It just seemed that in the big games we came up short sometimes, and you wonder why.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When I’ve watched teams that play with five at the back and wing-backs, I’ve looked at their starting positions and positions out of possession because that comes a little bit more unnaturally to me.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You want to play in finals, and they don’t come much bigger than the Champions League final.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“To beat City twice is no easy feat.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“All that I can say is that, from my point of view, our manager Arsene Wenger is an unbelievable man off the pitch and as a manager.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“If I’ve had a bad game, I know I’ve had a bad game, and I don’t mind hearing it.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“If there’s a shot on, I like to take the opportunity as well, and I like passing the ball – which is one of the reasons I came to Arsenal. But I’m a player that likes to come up with an end product – whether that’s a goal, an assist, or helping the team to get good results.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’m quite confident to take people on – if there’s a one against one, I’ll definitely take it on if I feel I can get a cross in or set someone up.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“My senior school didn’t play football. It was a rugby and cricket school, and as I was on a sports scholarship, I was forced to play rugby.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’ll handle living on my own. You’ve got to learn somehow. I’ll take it all in my stride like I do everything else.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“My dad speaks a lot of sense and keeps me grounded. He’ll watch me play and, if I’ve done well, he’ll have a quiet word with me and say, ‘Well done.’ If I’ve had a not-so-good game, he’ll let me know about it.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“If I hadn’t wanted to become a footballer, Dad wouldn’t have made me do it.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’ve grown up playing in central midfield more, and I think my natural game is about coming inside from wide.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Sometimes when I play on the wing, I have to remind myself to stay out wide because I tend to naturally drift in towards the ball. I try to get on the ball and make something happen.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Arsenal are all about nice, intricate passing movements around the box, so if I shoot too much from outside the box without scoring, the boss will have a go at me!”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’ve had loads of kicks over the years, and I’m not really too fussed about them. I get kicked, and I don’t like to roll around or anything. I like to get back up pretty quickly, even if it hurt.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I remember watching David Beckham scoring that free-kick at Old Trafford to take England to a World Cup. Things like that stick with you. I was at Southsea, waiting to board a hovercraft for the Isle of Wight. We ended up missing it because we were more interested in watching the big screen.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When I play in central midfield, that’s my favourite position.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When I play out wide and maybe score a goal, that’s my favourite position.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When I played in goal at Stamford Bridge, I realised that’s not my best position.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When you have watched someone long enough, you know what they can do.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I am old enough and wise enough and I have been around long enough to know that things will be said – and not nice things a lot of the time. And when you are doing well, nice things will be said.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I have been playing for England since I was 18, and while I wouldn’t say I took it all for granted, it just seemed to be a part of my season – to play for Arsenal and to play for England.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Obviously, there’s times in your career when people doubt you.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You have good form, bad form, get criticised, get bigged up. You go through spells of trying to find out how much to listen to, what not to pay too much attention to.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when I hadn’t lost a little bit of confidence. But the people around me, close to me, were the ones to tell me I’d been playing slightly differently, not as confidently as I had been.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When my dad was still playing, he was away for five years on and off, so it just used to be me and my mum at home until my little brother came along when I was five.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I am really close to my mum. She always made me do my school and make sure I got all my grades. She is a physiotherapist, which is a massive help to me, so in terms of nutrition, she was the one who made sure I was eating all the right food, and I can only thank her that she kept me fit and healthy.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“My dad had a spell when he came out of coaching doing some work with underprivileged children on quite a rough council estate in Southampton to help the kids and take them out to places. I used to go along with him. I used to play football with them, mess about with them. I was only 13 or 14 and became good friends with them.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I am the type of person who relishes the chance to stand up and perform under pressure; I have had to do that my whole career.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You want to play as much as possible, but I am not the type of character to go bursting walls down.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“It’s a mutual respect, especially a player like Neymar, a player of a similar age to me and someone I’ve got massive respect for what he’s done in world football.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You see the likes of the Barcelonas and Real Madrids, and you always want to play against them and, obviously, Bayern Munich too.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Obviously, the big teams create the bigger atmosphere around the stadiums.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You can have one good game, but the next one could be a bad one.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“FA Cup or league – we look to win every game.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“To be picked for your country at any stage is a massive honour, and to be at a huge tournament likes the Euros is such a bonus.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I think I play with no fear: I run at players regardless of who they are and try to make a difference.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You are all mates off the pitch, but on it, you are all competing for places. I think that only makes a healthier squad – more players fighting for positions can only mean everyone has got to step their game up.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Spain have got a big influence from Real Madrid and Barcelona, and when you watch Spain play, it’s almost like watching Barcelona or Real Madrid at times.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“All players go through injuries in their career, but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“You become more aware of your body when you go through a long injury. You work on things you don’t know about until you get injured, so different muscles.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When you pick up injuries, you put yourself to the bottom of the pile for a bit and have to work yourself up.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Any chance I get, I’ll try and take with two hands.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’m always learning from the boys around me.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I have to improve to get to where I want to get and to be as good as I hope to be, so I keep working on it.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I always hear commentators talking about squads that have been around and that have won things; they always mention the experience of winning and knowing what it takes to win. They have only got that through winning trophies and winning competitions.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When there’s a lot of talk about a team that should or could be winning things, and it’s not happening, it can become a little bit frustrating.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I got to be around an England team at a World Cup in Brazil, and that was an amazing experience.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When you’re a young lad in a team like Arsenal, you feel like, of course, you deserve to be at the club… but you’re on the periphery, and there are world-class players and more experienced players around you.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Every time I come and try to work hard in training, and when I get opportunities, try to work hard and do the things the boss asks us to do.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Sometimes in midfield, it’s nice because you do get a little bit more of the ball, and maybe out wide you rely on people to get you the ball.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I just say I’d like to be an attacking midfielder.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I just want to be able to be an attacking influence and have that effect further up the pitch; whether that’s from an attacking midfield position or one of the wider positions coming in, I’m not too fussed.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Wherever I played, I had an opportunity to show my attributes.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I play where I’m told to play.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“The more positions I can play, it gives the manager a nice headache, and it can be helpful for him.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’ve played on the wing in some games and found myself in the middle for five or 10 minutes when others drift wide. It’s about creating chances, scoring goals and helping the team win.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I can have the worst game of my life, come off the pitch, and my mum will tell me I was great! That’s what mums do.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“There is always room for improvement, and I have always grown up knowing however well I have done, there is always something I could have done better.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“At Southampton, my dad was the academy coach at under-11 level.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When a big player leaves, a big player leaves. You’re at a big club like Liverpool, another big player will come in the future.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“As a footballer, you want to play every game.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Growing up, I played more centrally, which is why, whenever I do get asked to play there, I’m more than happy to do that.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I want to thank the Arsenal fans who’ve always supported me. But I can’t apologise for my decision to leave. I want to get more out of myself. I felt the main thing was taking myself out of my comfort zone. That’s why Liverpool shouted out for me.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“My dad had a soccer school that he used to run, the Mark Chamberlain Soccer Academy, I used to go to that for two years until the age of seven.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I started going training with Southampton, and they were selecting the team for the under-9s. I did a six-week trial and got in. I was quite lucky to play at a good standard from a very young age.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I’m into nice clothes and trying to look good.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“People at school used to assume I was going to be a footballer, and it wasn’t until I got to 16, when I was at Southampton, that I had a doubt for the first time in my life. Southampton said I wasn’t big enough, but it was just because I hadn’t grown. Simple as that.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I want people to like me, and I care what they think.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“My dad always pushes me, tries to make me do better, and maybe that’s what gets the best out of me. He’s tried to instil that in me.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“I think friendship in football is a massive part of the team.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When you have a good bunch of youthful players, it’s good to start them off together earlier rather than later, as they build up friendships.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“When I used to come to Anfield as an away player, I always knew it was going to be a hard game, no matter what kind of form your team was in.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
“Sticking to a routine helps you get in the zone for the match. I always put my left shinpad on before my right. When I go out onto the pitch, I take three hops on my left leg – but I don’t know why I started. I must have seen Messi do it or something.”
― Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
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