Thank you, Ox - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's Liverpool story

A thrilling catalyst for Jürgen Klopp’s team following his arrival, he went on to play his part as the Reds soared to domestic, European and global successes across his time on Merseyside.

Oxlade-Chamberlain made the move to the club in the summer of 2017 from Arsenal and after settling in to his new home began to sparkle with his exciting talents on the pitch and infectious personality off it.

Deployed in a midfield role with licence to support the attack, his dribbling, acceleration, eye for a pass and long-range finishing prowess soon flourished within a Liverpool side that was rapidly improving.

An outstanding low effort from distance set off a thrilling 4-3 win over Manchester City in the Premier League, and he thumped in another unstoppable goal as the same opponents were beaten in the Champions League quarter-finals.

But, cruelly, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s upward trajectory was halted by a multiple ligament injury to the knee sustained against AS Roma at Anfield. It would deny him the chance to feature in the European Cup final and rule him out for the majority of 2018-19.

“We will wait for him,” promised Klopp, and his rehabilitation was completed in time to make an emotional return to the pitch in April 2019 and be part of the matchday squad as the Reds lifted the Champions League by overcoming Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid several weeks later.

The next campaign would see Oxlade-Chamberlain switch to the No.15 shirt, sign a new contract and chalk up his most prolific season with Liverpool for both games and goals as the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League titles were added to the group’s silverware haul.

Used flexibly in midfield and attack, 30 of his 2019-20 appearances came in the top flight, helping Klopp’s men to end the club’s 30-year wait to clinch the championship again in emphatic style on 99 points.

There were brilliant strikes past Genk and Arsenal in cup competitions and important efforts away at AFC Bournemouth and West Ham United as Oxlade-Chamberlain netted eight times that season.

The last of those goals sealed a 5-3 victory over Chelsea at Anfield on the special night in July when the players finally got their hands on the Premier League trophy.

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” he said that summer. “[Winning the Champions League] was sort of the first experience of winning a trophy like that for anyone and obviously as a collective, for us as a team.

“Then to follow that up with this season winning the Premier League, you couldn’t have asked for it to have gone any better for us as a group, for the club, over the last three years.

“Moving from one club to another, you hope that these things are possible but obviously a lot of the time it doesn’t always pan out as well as it has done.”

An injury in pre-season limited his availability during the following term – one played largely behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic – but he would go on to feature regularly for much of a 2021-22 campaign that involved a tilt at a quadruple.

More winner’s medals were collected in the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup, while Liverpool also finished runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League.

Misfortune again befell Oxlade-Chamberlain last summer in the form of a hamstring issue that curtailed his pre-season and sidelined him for three months, as he went on to feature on 13 occasions in what was his final campaign.

“I think ‘journey’ is the right way to put it,” he reflected, after receiving an emotional send-off from the Anfield crowd and his teammates last month.

“It has been a journey but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of it. Of course there’s been some tough times but there’s been some absolutely amazing memories and amazing times.”

Everybody at Liverpool FC thanks Alex for his contributions to our successes during his time at the club and wishes him the very best for the future.