Arsene Wenger suspects Liverpool of 'tapping up' Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 07 September 2017

Wenger suspects Liverpool of 'tapping up' Ox

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger suggests that it was "inevitable" that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was "tapped up" before his £40m move to Liverpool.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that he believes it was "inevitable" that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was "tapped up" ahead of his deadline-day move to Liverpool.

The 24-year-old's £40m switch to Anfield was the biggest Premier League deal of deadline day as Oxlade-Chamberlain swapped Arsenal for Liverpool less than a week after being part of the Gunners team that was thrashed 4-0 by Jurgen Klopp's men.

Wenger implied that tapping up may have taken place on the day of the match, suggesting that it is widespread in football despite Liverpool being forced to apologise for an alleged illegal approach towards Southampton's Virgil van Dijk earlier in the transfer window.

"Even in the games, you sit there before the games and even in players' minds they have no clarity. Are they in? Are they out? Are they half in? Are they half out? Are they tapped up in the afternoon of the game by people who want to get them out? You are not naïve enough to think that will not happen. Have they been tapped up? Of course. But on the day of a game? I don't think so, I hope not. But it's inevitable," he told reporters.

"France played against Holland on the last day of the transfer window. Do you really think that not one French player or Dutch player had phone calls in the afternoon about do they move or not? Not naïve enough to believe that. If I am a football player, I can perform even if Liverpool is in my head.

"I don't think that should stop you to perform. Did it? I think [Oxlade-Chamberlain] was not worse than any other player on the football pitch. I don't want to go into individual cases, I just think in general. It's not the way to work and it's uncomfortable. Every single manager would agree that it's time to kick that out before the season starts and not continue to have players in the dressing room who are half out and half in. That's why you have to scrap it before the season starts."

Oxlade-Chamberlain could make his debut for Liverpool when they face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.