Merson: Liverpool a better fit for the Ox
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson believes that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is better suited to Liverpool's system ahead of his return to former club Arsenal.
The England international joined Liverpool late on in the summer transfer window, putting an end to his spell as a right wing-back in Arsenal's 3-4-3 system.
Speaking on 'The Debate', former Middlesbrough man Merson explained that in his humble opinion, Oxlade-Chamberlain is more likely to be a success at Anfield and stressed the importance of regular football in a fixed position to his development.
"At Arsenal, when you are playing with those two players [Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil] - world class footballers - the natural reaction is, as soon as they get the ball, to look for those two," he said. "You give them the ball and they'll probably touch it 40 times more than Oxlade-Chamberlain.
"Straight away that knocks his odds down of having a good game compared to them. I've followed his career from Southampton to Arsenal, I still don't know where he plays, I don't know his best position.
"I think you've got to put him in the centre, in the midfield three and say 'you are playing there' and leave him there for 10 games. He plays one game there, then he plays wing-back, on the wing and he just needs a position."
Merson also rejected suggestions that Chelsea were wrong to allow the likes of Mohamed Salah and Romelu Lukaku to leave the club when they did, but also insists that Oxlade-Chamberlain's decision to snub 'The Blues' was simply down to Antonio Conte's desire to use him as a wing-back.
"People say they can't believe Chelsea let Salah go; he didn't fit Chelsea. It's like Lukaku didn't fit Chelsea. He could've gone there but he looked and that and though: 'No, I'm going to be playing wing-back at Chelsea. I want to play in midfield'.
"Hopefully he [Oxlade-Chamberlain] will stay in midfield and, after tomorrow, start playing well.
"At Arsenal he didn't really play with a lot of pace in front of him; [Olivier] Giroud usually played up front on his own. It's hard, when you get into positions like a No 10 position, you are crying out for someone who can just go 'bang' and they are away.
"He [Ox] probably fits Liverpool - they are quite open, they've got plenty of pace up front. If you were playing in a midfield three and you've got three up front who are as lively as anything, it's nice.
"It's not rocket science - he needs to play football and that's what he is doing."