Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's Beşiktaş confession: 'It was changing very fast' | 'It's a shocking situation'

Former Besiktas star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been training with Arsenal's youth system during his time without a club. In an interview with The Athletic, the Englishman made some remarkable statements about his Beşiktaş days and his England career.

The English footballer's remarkable statements are as follows;

"I want to play, I'm not ready to stop in any way. I don't feel old, I still have that hunger to play and perform well, I just want an opportunity to show what I can still do."

'ARTETA WAS VERY WARM TO THE IDEA'

"I spoke to Per (Mertesacker, former Arsenal defender and now head of the club's academy program). I asked him if it was possible to train with the under-21 team and explained how I could add value by working with young players. Per liked the idea and of course he had to get it approved within the club. Arteta was also very receptive to the idea."

"He's one of the best characters I've met in football," Mikel Arteta told reporters when asked what Oxlade-Chamberlain was doing there. "If we can help him and give him space to get up to speed and find a club, it would be a happiness for us. I had the privilege to play with him and if he is in the team, he will be a really good role model for the team.

"Arteta and Arsenal didn't need me in the team. So it was very flattering and nice to hear that, and it made me even more determined to help the young players, to help them by helping them and sharing my experience."

"I spoke to Per (Mertesacker, former Arsenal defender and now head of the club's academy program). I asked him if it was possible to train with the under-21 team and explained how I could add value by working with young players. Per liked the idea and of course he had to get it approved within the club. Arteta was also very receptive to the idea."

"He's one of the best characters I've met in football," Mikel Arteta told reporters when asked what Oxlade-Chamberlain was doing there. "If we can help him and give him space to get up to speed and find a club, it would be a happiness for us. I had the privilege to play with him and if he is in the team, he will be a really good role model for the team."

'PROUD TO HEAR THIS'

"Arteta and Arsenal didn't need me in the team. So it was very flattering and nice to hear that, and it made me even more determined to help young players, to help them by helping them and sharing my experience."

'LUCK IS IMPORTANT IN FOOTBALL'

"Luck and timing are very important in football. It was unlucky that I had some injuries at times, but on the other hand, it was lucky that I was called up to the first team at Southampton when I was 16. Then at 18 I started playing for Arsenal and the England national team. Then when you reach a certain level, how do you say, you show your potential and a certain expectation is placed on you. And if you don't live up to those expectations by the age of 21, 22, 23, people say 'Oh, then he's not Neymar', 'He hasn't reached the level of (Wayne) Rooney'."

'I DID MY BEST'

"Could things have gone better sometimes? Yes. Could I have scored more goals? Yes. Could I have played more games? Yes. Did I sometimes have more injuries than I would have liked? Yes. And I would say that sometimes I could have been more persistent or thought about moving to a new team sooner when I couldn't play as many games as I wanted. But I always gave my best."

"I feel lucky to have the career I have had, as I have seen how difficult it can be since I left Liverpool."

'THINGS CHANGE FAST IN BEŞİKTAŞ'

"Things change quite fast in Besiktas. When you are used to six years of Arsene Wenger and then six years of Jürgen Klopp, it's quite a shock. Everything is great when the fans are happy but in other situations... Turkish players used to communicate, but you could definitely tell from the body language of the fans what they meant. When we had a few bad games, everything changed. Not only the manager, but everything: the schedule, the type of training we did, whether we had days off, whether we stayed in the hotel the night before the games, which players were popular and which were not. Everything was constantly changing and we were just struggling for some stability."

'I HAVEN'T PLAYED 20 GAMES'

"Under Giovanni van Bronckhorst I didn't play for 20 games. For me it was important to stay professional, work hard and be ready when I was called."

"Fortunately, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came, I started playing again. I felt the most comfortable when I was there. There were really good moments and not so good moments. I was ready to go home, but I'm glad I went to Besiktas."

"Everything has become bigger. Arsene Wenger kept his circle very small and intimate. The number of staff around the players was small, whereas now the number of staff, the number of players, the nutrition and everything else, everything is going to a bigger and elite level. It's different but I could see that almost everyone was singing the same song, staff and players and the whole club is shaped in this one direction."

'I KNOW ARTETA'S CHARACTER'

"I can't say I was surprised because I know Arteta's character and how much he helps me as a player. But to see it up close, his attention to detail and the way he delivers his messages is really impressive. It's something that all the top managers today have, he doesn't miss any detail. Small details, but also the way he communicates big ideas. And when you see how all this is implemented, how they work on set-pieces and the overall game, you realize that there is something really powerful there. I am really impressed, and I have worked with the best coaches."