Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain admits Mikel Arteta did something recently that was ‘quite humbling’

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been training with Arsenal’s U21, returning to Colney eight years after his exit.

The midfielder joined Liverpool in 2017, then moved on to sign for Besiktas six years later in 2023.

Now a free agent, Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to North London to train with Arsenal, getting stuck in with the U21s in order to keep his fitness levels up.

As expected, having returned after so long away, Oxlade-Chamberlain has noticed many changes at Arsenal, seeing Mikel Arteta go from his teammate to first-team manager.

Would things have been different for Oxlade-Chamberlain at Arsenal had Arsene Wenger used him in midfield?

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain loved what Mikel Arteta said about him

In the midst of his time training at Arsenal, The Athletic interviewed Oxlade-Chamberlain. 

During the fascinating conversation, the former Gunner was asked how he reacted to Arteta’s recent praise of him.

The Arsenal manager dubbed Oxlade-Chamberlain ‘one of the best characters’ he’d met in football, also calling him a ‘really good role model to have around the team’.

As The Athletic noted, the 32-year-old appreciated the love from Arteta, describing his praise as ‘quite humbling and nice to hear’.

“It was quite humbling and nice to hear, and it makes me even more determined to help them by helping out some of the younger players and sharing my experiences”.

Arteta is right, as having a player with 235 Premier League appearances under his belt incorporated into the U21s training sessions will only be beneficial.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s record with Arteta at Arsenal

What’s incredible is that, seven years after his exit, Oxlade-Chamberlain is still Arsenal’s record sale.

What is just as remarkable about that fact is that it was seven years ago that the midfielder departed, as to some, it feels like yesterday.

So much has changed, the most prominent being that Arteta is manager.

Arteta and Oxlade-Chamberlain shared the pitch 73 times at Arsenal, experiencing highs and lows as teammates.

Amid the occasional low, there were an abundance of highs, with the pair having a 61% win-rate when sharing the pitch.

Now, Arteta will hope that his former teammate can bring some of that winning luck to Colney while he waits to find a new club.