Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should leave Arsenal but Chelsea wouldn’t be the right choice, says ex-Blues midfielder Craig Burley.

Burley was speaking yesterday after news had emerged that Arsenal had agreed a £40m deal with Chelsea for the transfer of Oxlade-Chamberlain. Burley told ESPN via the Express: “I don’t get this transfer, if it happens, from either point of view.

“Not because I’m not a fan of Oxlade-Chamberlain, I think he’s a talented player, he’s an international. But one, I think he needs to get out of Arsenal, who offered him a contract I believe, but two he needs to play. 

“He needs to play regularly, he’s 24 and he really has to go somewhere where he’s almost going to get a game week in, week out. That isn’t happening for me at Chelsea, so I just don’t get it, I don’t understand it. He might actually play less at Chelsea than he is at Arsenal.”

Since Burley’s comments, the Ox has reportedly rejected the move to Chelsea, as he wants to sign for Liverpool. So perhaps he agrees with the sentiment put forth by Burley that Chelsea isn’t the right club for him to do what he wants with the next step in his career.

However, with rumours from David Ornstein that the England midfielder wants the opportunity to play in central midfield, it’s difficult to see how Liverpool is a better option for the player. Emre Can, Adam Lallana, Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson are all also fighting for places. I can’t see the 24-year-old getting in ahead of them.

Oxlade-Chamberlain must have a very large amount of faith in his own abilities if he thinks he’s displacing three or more guaranteed starters at a big six team playing a position he himself is inexperienced in.