He still holds a transfer record at Arsenal, but now he’s a free agent and looking for a new club

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A former Arsenal player who holds a record at the North London club is now a free agent.

The Gunners have had many stars thrive in their prime at the Emirates, and then ultimately decline after leaving N5.

The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil are high-profile recent cases of this, with all three displaying the best form of their respective careers at Arsenal, before struggling to rediscover this level elsewhere.

One man who almost fits this bill is now in search of a new club after being released by his most recent team.

• READ MORE: Confirmed Arsenal summer 2025 transfer ins and outs, signings and done deals

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a free agent after leaving Besiktas

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is now a free agent after being released by Besiktas last week.

After leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2022/23 season, the former Arsenal midfielder joined the Turkish club in August 2023, signing a three-year contract.

Suffering a serious injury just months into his spell in Istanbul, Oxlade-Chamberlain has since struggled to recover and regain full fitness, and was frozen out by manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst for a period of time.

Having made just 50 appearances in two years, Besiktas confirmed that they had terminated the 32-year-old’s contract a matter of days before the European transfer deadline.

Oxlade-Chamberlain wants to return to England, and could now complete a move to a Premier League or Championship club that is willing to offer the ageing, injury-prone star a new contract.

A potential landing spot could be Southampton, who are looking to gain promotion back to the top flight after being relegated last season, and unearthed the versatile playmaker in the first place.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still Arsenal’s record sale

Oxlade-Chamberlain made 198 appearances for Arsenal between 2011 and 2017.

Mostly a squad player at the Emirates, the Portsmouth-born man established himself as a regular in his final season in North London as a wing-back.

However, not keen on fulfilling this role long-term, Oxlade-Chamberlain jumped ship when Liverpool came calling, and the Gunners secured a record fee for him at the time.

Selling him to the Merseysiders for £35 million, this is still the most lucrative sale Arsenal have made, despite it coming to fruition back in August 2017.

While the Gunners have sold the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Alex Iwobi, Folarin Balogun, Emi Martinez and Joe Willock for significant fees since, nothing has usurped Oxlade-Chamberlain’s switch to Liverpool.