A former Arsenal participant price the membership an additional £1.4million over the course of his Gunners profession due to an odd clause in his contract.
An uncommon contract clause price Arsenal for years (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal ended up paying Southampton £1.4million following their sale of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool, triggered by an uncommon clause written into his Gunners contract. The ex-England worldwide turned – and stays – Arsenal’s most costly sale in 2017, finishing a swap to Anfield for an preliminary £35million that finally climbed to £40m.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, now 32, started his skilled journey on the south coast, though he spent solely a single senior season with the Saints earlier than sealing a £15m switch to the Emirates Stadium in 2011. That switch was agreed with £12m paid upfront, alongside a further £3m linked to performance-based add-ons. One essential add-on was particularly related to how a lot recreation time the midfielder would accumulate in north London.
As detailed in Alan Gernon’s 2018 guide, The Switch Market: The Inside Tales, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first cope with Arsenal included a clause requiring the membership to ship Southampton £10k every time he appeared for at least 20 minutes.
Consideration round this stipulation grew when followers and pundits seen Gunners boss Arsene Wenger usually bringing the participant on late in video games, typically instead or after the 71st minute. In whole, solely 115 of his 198 outings for Arsenal got here from the beginning.
Following his departure from Liverpool in 2023, Oxlade-Chamberlain signed for Besiktas, the place he claimed the Turkish Cup however as soon as extra discovered it tough to cement a beginning function. His deal was led to August 2025, leaving him with out a membership since.
Though Oxlade-Chamberlain can agree phrases with a brand new aspect at any level, finishing a transfer earlier than the switch window shuts on Monday would maximise his probabilities of being registered – and subsequently obtainable for all competitions his future membership may enter.
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