‘Class’ – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Impresses Former Scotland Star
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Former Scotland midfielder Michael Stewart has lauded the instant impact made by new signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at Celtic, despite him having been out of action since last summer.
Eyebrows were raised when Celtic decided to invest in free agent Oxlade-Chamberlain post the official closure of the January transfer window.
Former Scottish top-flight star Alan Rough explained that putting faith in a player who lacked match fitness would be a gamble.
Tam McManus, though, stressed his view that the 32-year-old would fit into the Celtic team and compete for a place, particularly in their midfield.
The former Arsenal and Liverpool star was handed his league debut by manager Martin O’Neill in the midweek match against Livingston as a late second-half substitute, replacing full-back Julian Araujo.
He made an immediate impact, scoring a late 91st-minute goal to earn a win for Celtic and keep pace in the title race.
Stewart was left impressed by the calm, composed and quality finish by Oxlade-Chamberlain and lauded him for the immediate impact.
“It was a class goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Just a calm, composed, quality finish”, Stewart told BBC Sportsound.
“He’s not played since May and you’re thinking – is he going to be able to have an impact?
“And what an impact he’s had already.”
Celtic have two important Europa League playoff fixtures against VfB Stuttgart to take care of and O’Neill will hope that Oxlade-Chamberlain can bring his experience to the plate to help them.
Even towards the end of his time at Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain attracted interest from heavy-hitters, with Aston Villa keen in the summer of 2023.
And in 2022, Oxlade-Chamberlain was eyed for a shock swoop by Liverpool’s fierce rivals Manchester United.
The midfielder was rated as capable of special things while at Anfield, but often struggled with injury and consistency.
One performance especially, in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, saw Oxlade-Chamberlain picked out for praise.
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