Arsenal lost out on £1.4m due to 'mad' contract clause before star joined Liverpool

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain spent 12 years of his career playing for Arsenal and Liverpool (Image: Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Arsenal had to shell out £1.4million to Southampton following their sale of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool due to an unusual clause in his contract.

The ex- England international became, and remains, the Gunners ' record sale in 2017 when he made his move to Anfield in 2017 for an initial £35million, which later rose to £40m. The 32-year-old began his career with his childhood club Southampton but spent just one season of his professional career with the Saints before earning a £15m move to the Emirates in 2011.

The financial deal consisted of an initial £12m fee, with an additional £3m to be paid in potential add-ons. Some of these add-ons were directly linked to how much playing time the then-teenager would get in north London.

In Alan Gernon's 2018 book, The Transfer Market: The Inside Stories, the author suggested that Oxlade-Chamberlain's first contract with Arsenal included a clause that would require the Gunners to pay £10k to the Saints every time he played for 20 or more minutes.

Speculation surrounding the clause later gained momentum upon the realisation that Arsene Wenger would often bring the midfielder on from the bench or after the 71st minute of a match. Of Oxlade-Chamberlain's 198 appearances for the club, he started just 115 of them, reports the Mirror .

This topic was discussed on the That Peter Crouch Podcast in 2024. The former Liverpool striker and his co-host, ex-Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell, were left puzzled by the apparent existence of such a clause.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain became a Premier League champion at Liverpool (Image: 2020 Pool)

On the podcast, a baffled Sidwell queried: "Our researchers, is this real? Hold on, every 20 minutes?" Crouch then interjected, adding: "I don't know if that's true [but] that is madness."

This clause resulted in a £1.4m bonus for Southampton as Oxlade-Chamberlain went on to play 20 or more minutes in 85 Premier League matches, 25 Champions League games, 18 FA Cup fixtures and nine EFL Cup ties during his six-year tenure at Arsenal.

The free agent, who had a two-year stint at Besiktas after leaving Liverpool in 2023, will undoubtedly be an interested viewer this afternoon when his two former clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal, clash at Anfield.

Both sides have earned victories in their first two league matches, with Mikel Arteta's squad heading into the weekend at the top of the table on goal difference following a 1-0 triumph over Manchester United and a mammoth 5-0 win against Leeds United.

The Englishman won three FA Cup trophies at Arsenal (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images.)

Despite matching Arsenal's two victories, the current league champions have had a more difficult journey to their wins. They started their season with an exciting 4-2 victory over Bournemouth, followed by another late 3-2 win over Newcastle United, thanks to Rio Ngumoha's 100th-minute winner.

Liverpool have failed to pick up all three points against Arsenal in their last six Premier League encounters, with their most recent league success against the Gunners dating back to March 2022. The last time the Reds earned a victory against the Gunners at Anfield was a year earlier, in 2021.

Oxlade-Chamberlain played 198 games for the Gunners - the most he has ever played for one club - and scored 20 goals and contributed 28 assists. He was part of the Arsenal teams that captured three FA Cup trophies as well as three Community Shields.