Exclusive Celtic TV interview with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

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Celtic F.C.

·7 febbraio 2026

Exclusive Celtic TV interview with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

As soon as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain spoke to Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney, he knew that Celtic was the place for him.

The 32-year-old England internationalist has joined the Club on a contract until the summer with an option for a further year, subject to international clearance.

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And he can’t to start working with his new team-mates, although he will be an interested spectator at Celtic Park today (Saturday) as the Hoops take on Dundee in the Scottish Cup.

Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also revealed that the idea of a move to Celtic had already been planted in his mind by his friend and former Celtic goalkeeper, Joe Hart, while as soon as Celtic’s interest became public, Andy Robertson was constantly in touch with him telling him to get to Paradise.

"I was with Harty (Joe Hart) a few weeks ago at James Milner’s birthday actually, and I asked him about Celtic – to be fair, it was before this came about – and how he found it up here,” Oxlade-Chamberlain explained. “He just said it was the best two or three years of his life that he was up here.

'He absolutely loved it and he actually suggested at the time that this would be perfect for me and that I would love it up here. And funnily enough, here I am!'

“He raved about it, how much he loved it up here, how the people treated him, how intense it is and how passionate it is. And even playing with Harty, that’s his whole identity. So that made sense, how he loved it so much, and he talked it right up.

“So when it came around, I was fresh off those conversations as well and that makes it a lot easier to see myself up here and how it will be.

“I’m best mates with Andy Robertson as well so it didn’t take much convincing from him. Robbo also told me to get in the car and get myself up here, and he’s been messaging me every couple of hours the last two days – ‘Are you there yet?’ ‘Is it done?’”

Those words from two of friends were positive enough, but it was conversations with Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney which carried the most weight in convincing him to join Celtic.

“Speaking with the manager, it just felt like the perfect fit for me and I feel like I can come in and help out the lads,” he explained.

“He just wanted to cross-check how I was, where I was training. I’ve obviously been training at Arsenal for a good three months so he wanted to hear about that and hear how I was in the situation I was, hear how my last few seasons went out in Turkey and get a bit of background on my situation.

'I explained everything and he said he’d love to have me up here and it seemed quite seamless.'

“A lot of times when you’re in these situations, it can be of opinions back and forth with teams when you’re talking, and you just to the opportunity to go and play, and the manager here is maybe a bit more old-school in that manner where he just said, are you ready to come and play. I said, yes, absolutely, and here we are. We’re ready to get cracking.

“Just talking to the manager, and Shaun Maloney as well, who told the expectations on the club and what it means to play here, what our targets are and that he’s going to push me.

“That’s all the stuff I identify with and that’s the environment I’ve always been in and been lucky enough to be in.

“It’s exactly what I need. I need another challenge and lucky enough at a massive club like this. And they can help me get back to where I need to get to and, more importantly, I need to help the team achieve the goals we want to do.”

And with Celtic in the hunt for silverware this season, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is looking forward to playing his part for the team, bringing his experience of winning trophies to the club.

“There are some really experienced guys already here and they have experience of winning it here and what it’s like here,” he said, “so I’m going to have to learn off that and try to take from that.

“But being in any environment and any team that is competing to win things, you learn over the years how things are done, the habits you form, the culture you set between yourselves. That’s obviously something I’ve come from and I’ve been lucky enough to experience.

'So that’s my job also as one of the senior players, or older players with experience, is to come in train the way you need to train every day and set those standards.'

“And, like I said, it’s also important for me to learn off the other boys who’re here and who have lived and breathed it here, and that’s a new experience for me – to learn from them quickly as well.

“It’s going to be a tough end to the season. There are a lot of games, and all that is something I can resonate with – that pressure, that expectation and the demands from the fans for those things is what makes me tick and I like that challenge, so all of that fed into it as well for me.”