Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reveals contract offers after returning to Arsenal as ex-England star declares where he wants to play next

Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his contract terminated by Besiktas over the summer. He had spent almost two years in Istanbul, becoming a Turkish Cup winner along the way. Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup successes have previously been savoured with Liverpool and Arsenal.

The 32-year-old is ready to embrace a new challenge, with accusations of being injury prone being played down. He is fit and looking to keep himself sharp while working alongside academy hopefuls in north London - with former Gunners team-mate Mikel Arteta happy to open doors there.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has already attracted interest, but he is no longer prepared to spread his wings as far as continental Europe. He is engaged to former Little Mix pop-star Perrie Edwards, with it revealed in September that the pair are expecting their second child together.

With family in mind, Oxlade-Chamberlain told Ben Foster on the Fozcast podcast when asked if any approaches for his services have been made: "Yes, but to be fair, most of them have been Europe, away from home. For me, I did two years away, which I found difficult on a family level. I was going 6-8 weeks without seeing my son and my missus. Mum and dad didn’t even get a look in because if I came back for a day or two, it would be seeing them [his son and fiancee]. That was difficult, and I knew that I didn’t want to do that again – I wanted to be back in England. It’s just waiting for the right thing to pop up back here, that makes sense for my family.

"Once you have children, it changes things – it’s not all just about me now, or about football, it needs to suit them as well. I’ve had offers, and I’ve had to say no to them because they weren’t right for me and for us. It’s about waiting for the right project, something I can be excited about, to go into and hit the ground running."

While Oxlade-Chamberlain would prefer to be playing right now, he is doing all he can to ensure that he will be ready to hit the ground running when the right opportunity presents itself.

He added when asked what his current schedule looks like: "Just a lot of waiting around, training and keeping myself fit. All that fun stuff that isn’t that fun! It’s a different situation for me to be in, I had that at Liverpool when I became a free agent, I saw my contract out there. I had it for a month or two, and then I signed in Turkey on August 14th, so it wasn’t like now. Now the season is well and truly underway, and there’s that awkward bit of waiting and you’re missing out and want to be playing.

"It’s different – it’s not a nice situation for any footballer to be in, but I’m fortunate enough that I’ve put myself into a situation to choose what’s best for me, and I’ve said no to things. There’s more in play now – family, children, I’m being a bit more selective. Ultimately, the whole thing is that I want to get back playing again as soon as possible.

"There’s obviously stuff you can do to be proactive yourself, maybe even find opportunities or letting people know you’d be open to opportunities. Ultimately, it’s out of your control. You’re sat waiting for a call, for a team to decide they need you and that you can bring value. It’s a lot of waiting around."

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