Former Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has opened up on his decision to leave the Emirates Stadium almost three years ago.
The England international swapped Arsenal for Liverpool after completing a £35 million move in the summer of 2017.
Oxlade-Chamberlain spent seven years at Arsenal, making 198 appearances and winning the FA Cup three times.
Since joining Liverpool, he has won the Champions League and is on course to lift the first Premier League title of his career.
Speaking to Ian Wright, the Liverpool man gave an insight into his thoughts when leaving the Emirates Stadium.
“I wouldn’t say I wanted to leave Arsenal because I didn’t believe we could win,” he said.
“I just didn’t believe I was going to be able to play where I wanted to play and that was it.
“Me winning the Champions League was obviously a dream come true and a massive bonus but I didn’t feel like ‘Ah, I told you so’ [at Arsenal].”
But the player says that the decision to leave the club after so long was a difficult one to make.
"It was a big decision for me to leave a club like Arsenal. It was everything I knew at the top level for seven years," he added.
“When you’ve been at a club like that for seven years… it’s a club where you love being and it’s more than just a football club, it’s a family culture.
“When I had to make the decision to leave, it was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make and to be honest there was a part of me that didn’t know if it was the right thing.
“I feel a lot of my best performances for Arsenal came in midfield but I never played consistently in that position.
“The first game of that season I switched with Hector [Bellerin]. First game I played on the left [wing-back], he played on the right and second game we switched.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got to take the risk, I’ve got to take the chance. I don’t want to look back at the end and think I didn’t try.'”
