Opinion: Oxlade-Chamberlain proves he still has a role to play for Liverpool

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain proved during his short cameo against Burnley that he can still have a big future in a Liverpool shirt.

The Englishman was brought on in the 81st minute with the Reds 2-0 up at Turf Moor. Jurgen Klopp’s men were looking to see out the game and go one step closer to finishing in the top four.

Interestingly, Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Roberto Firmino and went straight into the No 9 position. He did the same in the 1-0 win against Wolves in March and looked very sharp.

The 27-year-old has barely featured since then, having suffered from injury and illness.

However, it only took him eight minutes to make an impact against Burnley.

With Liverpool under a bit of pressure from Sean Dyche’s men, the Ox put to game to bed in the 88th minute with a fantastic left-footed finish.

After a short corner and some nice play between Andy Robertson, James Milner and Thiago on the left-wing, Oxlade-Chamberlain showed some intelligent movement and made a diagonal run towards the corner of the box.

Robertson found him and Oxlade-Chamberlain went one way and then the other to sit Charlie Taylor down. He struck the ball with phenomenal power on his weaker, albeit not by much, left-foot past Will Norris from a relatively tight angle.

The goal showcased his match intelligence, quick feet and fantastic shooting ability. All reasons that he still has a future at Anfield, despite the growing number of naysayers.

Oxlade-Chamberlain the ideal squad player

Let’s put it simply – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would probably be twice the player that most people see him as if it wasn’t for injury. Daniel Sturridge, Joel Matip, Naby Keita… this is nothing new for Liverpool.

He is a fantastic footballer. Jurgen Klopp and Michael Edwards would not have spent £35m on him (per BBC) in 2017 if he wasn’t.

He had an excellent first campaign at the club before a serious ACL injury saw him miss the 2018/19 season.

After his return, Oxlade-Chamberlain also had a fairly good 2019/20, despite picking up a few knocks here and there. His performance against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16 was one of the best of his career.

Unfortunately, lockdown didn’t allow him to build on this momentum.

Then there was another injury last summer which saw him miss the first half of this season. When he returned, the team was in freefall and had little stability.

Jurgen Klopp will be the first to tell you that the circumstances were imperfect to phase back in a player returning from a long injury lay-off.

The few minutes here and there that he did get came on the wing, which is not his best position. He clearly had lost a yard of pace and was well away from full-sharpness.

A few lacklustre cameos and the frustration over his unavailability saw some fans grow frustrated with him. Many would have been open to selling him this summer.

But his excellent goal against Burnley should remind these fans of the player that he really is.

At his best, usually when played in centre-midfield, Oxlade-Chamberlain is a bundle of aggressive energy.

His driving runs and superb long-range shooting ability mean that he brings something different to any other midfielder at the club. Stylistically, he is the closest midfielder we have to Steven Gerrard.

Add the fact that he is homegrown, versatile and a much-loved character and you will find that he is the ideal squad player.

When fit and in form, he is good enough to start for the very best teams on earth. That must not be forgotten.

Hopefully, he can build on this momentum and get back to being the Ox that we all know and love.