One of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's key reasons for wanting a move to Liverpool over Chelsea could have been apparent as far back as May.

The Arsenal man turned down the Premier League champions so he could join Liverpool in a £40m deal, with the desire to play in his preferred central midfield position seen as the reason why.

He has usually been used as an out-and-out winger, but featured as wing-back towards the end of last season as Arsene Wenger opted to switch to the 3-4-3 formation used so successfully by Chelsea.

Arsenal finished the season on a high with their third FA Cup triumph in the last four years, with Oxlade-Chamberlain playing at wing-back in the final against Chelsea.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been deployed in a range of roles for Arsenal this term (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)
Gerrard was one of the best midfielders of his generation (
Image:
Mark Metcalfe)

And after the win, the presence of the Liverpool legend at pitchside - where he was working as a pundit for BT Sport - led to Oxlade-Chamberlain making a revelation.

“Playing for a team like Arsenal, it ends up being more of a right-wing job,” he said of his position in the team.

“I get the ball from deeper and the plays into my hands more. At the end of the day, it’s given me minutes and I’m not one to complain.

“But, the centre-mid role… I’ve always wanted to be Steven Gerrard, so I’ve still got a hope of that.”

Now he will be hoping to follow in Gerrard's footsteps at Anfield.

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