Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain s move to Liverpool from Arsenal came as a relief to the midfielder, according to Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
The England international joined the Anfield club on transfer deadline day for a reported initial fee of £35million.
Oxlade-Chamberlain s final Arsenal appearance was in the 4-0 thrashing by Liverpool on Merseyside and claimed leaving the Emirates Stadium was the right step for his development.
Speaking ahead of his side s EFL Cup match at Leicester City on Tuesday, in which Oxlade-Chamberlain is in line to make his first start for the club, Klopp says it made complete sense for the 24-year-old to join.
A new start is, very often, kind of a relief, he said. You are in a situation in your old club – I don t say it now for Alex especially but in general it s like this – you are in a specific position and you accept it at some point and then it s difficult to make the next step.
I thought it made complete sense for Alex to change club, especially to come here. So far, I can see that he has settled in perfectly. He knew at least all of the England players and a few others and he s a really nice lad so it is easy for him to settle in the team.
He knows he played all the games for Arsenal from the beginning and now he s coming here and sitting on the bench it looks like it was not the best decision. But it s about the long-term and we already can use him, that s good, but we want to prepare him also, that s all. It s all good from this side at the moment.
Klopp: [This game] is a fantastic opportunity for Alex. He had a wonderful impact in the last game.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
Klopp believes too much pressure was placed on Oxlade-Chamberlain s shoulders after he joined Arsenal as a teenager in 2011, but he is confident he will become an important player for Liverpool.
We play different to Arsenal, that s clear. It doesn t mean better or worse, it just means different, he said.
Arsenal changed a lot since Oxlade is there, I m sure they didn t play always with three at the back and wing-backs and stuff like this. I played against Arsenal when Alex was in centre-mid, I played against Alex when he was on the wing, I played against Arsenal when he was wing-back. He played different positions and that is all highest quality; if you can play in the Premier League on different positions it says a lot about you.
Probably, when Alex was 18 or 19 people thought he could be the man , like a lot of people think a lot of times pretty early. But, as I always say, you immediately put a rucksack on their back and that makes development not easy.
So, hide them as long as it makes sense and send them out as soon as possible. That s the plan. But he is now the perfect age and still is able to make big steps. I thought he played in the last game like a Liverpool player: highest intensity, all good, was not fixed in a position, flexible, half-left, half-right, in the box.
I saw already a lot of things and, at the end, he didn t score a goal so probably a lot of people will say that s not a proper Liverpool player. But I m really happy to have him here and I hope he is also happy to be here.
