Arsenal star midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has hinted that he may need to leave the north London based club in the search for first team football, according to the SkySports show Goals on Sunday.
The Gunners already lost Jack Wilshere over the summer on loan due to a lack of playing opportunities and it seems ‘The Ox’ may also be on his way out.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has only played one full game of football this season and is understood to be frustrated by the lack of playing time. The England international most recently lost his place in the starting line-up to the Nigerian youngster Alex Iwobi.
“I’d be lying if I wasn’t going to sit here and say that it has crossed my mind that I need more game time. As a footballer, you want to play every game. Me being myself, I’m not happy when I’m not playing,” Chamberlain told Goals on Sunday.
“There is going to come a time in my career, and I think I’m approaching that, when I do need to be getting more regular football, but my focus completely and utterly now is on playing for Arsenal and still trying to break into the team when I get the opportunity.
“Help out if I have to come off the bench, do what I did yesterday and come on and make a difference.
“My sole aim for now is to help Arsenal and keep pushing myself to play in this team, because you know, I love playing at Arsenal. It’s a great club, it’s a great team and I’ve got a lot of faith in the team.
“There is that in my mind that I do want to get more game time. There comes a time in your career where you have to re-evaluate things and think, ‘Is that going to be here or elsewhere?’
“I’m not there at the moment, I’m fully focused on this season, playing my part in that. When you get to the end of the season, just like managers do where they re-evaluate their team, players re-evaluate their personal situation, and I’ll do that at the end of the season.”
Chamberlain has two years remaining on his contract with Arsenal and made 33 appearances for the Gunners last season.
The 23-year-old came off the bench during Arsenal’s 3-2 victory over Swansea City on Saturday. Arsenal moved up to joint first place with 19 points after eight games in the Premier League.
Arsene Wenger’s side take on Ludogorets in the UEFA Champions League next week.