Arsenal reject Liverpool bid after Oxlade-Chamberlain snubs Chelsea

Alex Oxlade-Chamblerlain had a thought yesterday and decided to reject what looked a perfect marriage of a transfer from Arsenal to Chelsea. Not only was he set to trade up in terms of Premier League- and Champions League-winning chances (precedent: Cahill, Gary), he was set to work with one of the best coaches in football, one who’s renowned for getting the most out of players and helping many take that next evolutionary step in their careers. Oxlade-Chamberlain realized that his career had gotten stuck in the Arsenal quagmire, but given the option to escape it, he chose as poorly as that dude at the end of the third Indiana Jones movie.

Unfortunately for the Ox, he’s not the only stake-holder and decision-maker in this situation, so even though he has chosen Liverpool over Chelsea, Arsenal are under no obligation to accept any old Liverpool offer. In fact, as reported by the Evening Standard’s James Olley, Arsenal have knocked back Liverpool’s £30m lowball. (That £30m is deemed a lowball is a discussion for the post-mortem of this outrageous transfer window.) There will be no bargain to be found here for Liverpool.

Presumably the Reds will now come back with an improved offer, but if they don’t, there’s still time to make the right choice, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain!