Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has admitted he would like to have played a bit more since joining the club from Arsenal in a high profile August transfer, but accepts that patience can be an important part of settling in at a new club.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is thought to have quit Arsenal in a bid to play more regular football in a fixed position after spending years a frustrated back-up or utility player at the Emirates Stadium.
But the 24-year-old’s appearance against West Ham on Saturday, a game in which he also scored, was his first Premier League start for the Reds after seven previous appearances.
He also started in the Champions League over Maribor a few days earlier, his first in Europe.
Oxlade-Chamberlain will hope that his last two performances prove to be an early watershed moment in his Liverpool career. But the player is also taking a mature approach to the situation and understands the context of his lack of consistent game time up to this point.
“It’s never easy coming into a new team with as much quality as we’ve got here. It takes time to settle in and learn a new formation and style of play,” he explained to the club’s official website.
“I’ve had to be patient; I’d have liked to have played as much as I can, that’s natural. The only thing I can do when I get the chance is try to impress and help the team to win, with goals and creating chances,” he added.
“I’m going to keep trying to do that and keep pushing for starting places, just as everyone else will. That’s the best thing competition for places.
“The most important thing is that we’re winning. I’m happy with the result [against West Ham] and obviously it was nice to start as well.”
