The Athletic's resident renowned American Arsenal team correspondent James McNicholas, exclusively reported on Tuesday that England international midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to his former club, Arsenal for trials.

According to McNicholas, Oxlade-Chamberlain has actually already been back at Arsenal since late October to maintain his match fitness and, if possible, to secure another contract. This arrangement will last until the end of December.

While there are currently no indications that the Gunners are ready to re-sign Oxlade-Chamberlain, the coaching staff has expressed high regard for his professionalism over the past two months.

In fact, this is not the first time Arsenal has made such an arrangement for their former players.

Since over a decade ago, Arsenal has repeatedly arranged trials for former players to help them maintain their match fitness. Club legend Thierry Henry, during his time with the New York Red Bulls in the MLS off-season, underwent such an arrangement and even signed a short-term loan spell at Arsenal.

McNicholas also revealed that his colleague Oliver Kay interviewed Oxlade-Chamberlain a few weeks ago, and the player frankly admitted that the competitive levels that current Arsenal team is several times better than the team he played for at Liverpool.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, plagued by injuries in recent years, has been looking for a new club since leaving Beşiktaş this summer after his contract expired.

Although there were rumours in September which claimed that EFL Championship newcomers Birmingham City were interested in signing him, these rumours ultimately came to nothing.

About Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The 32-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was born on August 15, 1993, in Portsmouth, England. Standing at 1.8 meters tall, he primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also play as a left winger, right winger, or support striker. His wife is Perry Edwards, a member of the popular British girl group Little Mix. His father, Alec, was a legendary goalkeeper at Portsmouth. His younger brother, Christian, currently plays for non-league club Truro City as a right-back.

Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Southampton's youth academy at the age of seven and completed his first-team debut in March 2010 at the age of 16 years and 199 minutes, breaking the club record previously held by former teammate Theo Walcott to become the youngest player to ever play for Southampton.

Thanks to his outstanding performances, Oxlade-Chamberlain helped the club secure promotion to the Championship as runners-up in the 2010/11 League One season, attracting Arsenal's attention.

In August 2011, Oxlade-Chamberlain moved to Arsenal for £15 million.

During his six-year spell with the Gunners, Oxlade-Chamberlain won the FA Cup three times and the Community Shield three times, earning a place in the England national team and further solidifying his status as a household name in Britain.

On the 2017 summer transfer window deadline day, Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool for £35 million.

After joining the Reds, Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal-scoring efficiency improved significantly, and he even went on a scoring spree during the 2019/20 season.

However, since suffering a serious injury during the 2020 preseason friendlies, Oxlade-Chamberlain's appearances for the club have drastically decreased due to injury problems.

During his six-year spell at Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain made 146 appearances for the Reds in all competitions, scoring 18 goals and providing 15 assists, winning one Premier League title, one Carabao Cup, one Champions League title, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup with the club.

After his contract expired in August 2023, Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Beşiktaş on a free transfer.

During his two-year spell with Kara Kartallar, Oxlade-Chamberlain made 50 appearances for the Turkish Süper Lig giants in all competitions, scoring 5 goals and providing 1 assist, winning the Turkish Cup once with the club.