Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been doing his coaching badges at Arsenal ahead of a future role at the club, but he’s currently finalising a move to Celtic.
Isaan Khan reports for the Daily Mail that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been doing his coaching badges whilst training with Arsenal over the last few months, and Mikel Arteta is reportedly interested in adding the player to the club’s staff.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been doing his UEFA B coaching licence alongside training with the Arsenal u21s as a free agent, and Khan writes that Arteta is a big admirer of the player.
The Arsenal boss reportedly wants more ex-players within the club setup, having recently lost Edu Gaspar and Jack Wilshere to other clubs and with Per Mertesacker set to leave this summer.
But if Oxlade-Chamberlain does ultimately take on a coaching role at Arsenal, it won’t be until he finishes his playing career. As it stands, Sky Sports report that the player is due to travel to Glasgow to complete a move to Celtic.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is reportedly close to agreeing a six-month deal with the option for a further year, though details are still to be sorted.
Unfortunately for Celtic and the player himself, he won’t be signed in time to be registered in their Europa League squad, as the registration deadline was yesterday.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been out of contract since leaving Besiktas last summer, and his time back at Arsenal was meant to have the dual benefit of helping him to get sharp whilst also taking advantage of his experience in football to mentor some of the Gunners’ current academy players.
There was briefly some talk that Arsenal might even want to sign up Oxlade-Chamberlain as a player, following the injury to Mikel Merino. But that was never the plan, and the club will be pleased to see they’ve helped him secure a contract elsewhere.