Oxlade-Chamberlain brings the quality Celtic needs to win title

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The Celtic Star

·12 de fevereiro de 2026

Oxlade-Chamberlain brings the quality Celtic needs to win title

Celtic picked up the three points last night against Livingston but we certainly made it hard for ourselves, relying on another late show in stoppage time from a debut Bhoy to get the victory. This time it was the turn of man of the moment Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain …

11.02.2026 Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership. Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain celebrates after scoring the late winner at Celtic Park. Photo: Kenny Ramsay. IMAGO / News Licensing

In the first of three articles on The Celtic Star today I started by looking at the loss of form suffered by Reo Hatate in recent months and how it is now starting to become a real concern for Celtic as we enter the most important part of the season.

Vídeos OneFootball

Reo Hatate of Celtic. Falkirk v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Falkirk Stadium, 14 January 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

With Arne Engels now looking likely to miss a number of crucial matches, Martin O’Neill could really do with Reo performing at his usual high standard but once again last night the Japanese midfielder fell well below that and indeed almost cost Celtic two valuable points.

Reo was saved by new signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who I believe is exactly the type of quality player that Celtic needs as we enter the business end of the season.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is exactly the type of quality player we need

New signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Celtic is paraded in front of the fans ahead of kick off at Celtic Park. Celtic v Dundee, Scottish Cup, Fifth Round, Celtic Park, on 07 February 2026. Photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/Shutterstock

When Celtic were linked with out of contract former England International Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the end of the transfer window some scoffed at the idea of him coming to Glasgow.

Many thought his best days were past him and that he would be a flop in Scotland but already he has proven his worth to this Celtic team and shown himself to be a shrewd piece of business by Martin O’Neill.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Celtic reacts at the final whistle with Callum McGregor. Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 11 February 2026. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO/Shutterstock

This Celtic team has been crying out for someone with a bit of quality this season and the Ox was exactly what we needed. He’s a player who has operated at the top level his whole career. Even more importantly is he seems to still have the hunger to prove himself in the latter days of his career.

This signing feels a lot more Joe Hart than Freddie Ljungberg, someone focused on proving he’s still got plenty in the tank and can still make a difference at a high level.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal to make it 2-1 to Celtic. 11.02.2026 Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership. Photo Kenny Ramsay. IMAGO/ News Licensing

I don’t see Alex starting every game but we can see the impact he can make when he does appear, and the level of quality he possesses could be that tiny extra piece needed to get us over the line this season.

It just shows the difference signing players with proven quality over potential can make. Here’s his post-match media conference and the Ox certainly looks delighted with his debut goal for Celtic.

Next I’ll look at something that will possibly be troubling you after watching Celtic miss chance after chance last night. Not taking our chances early is going to cost us at some point and we need to stop dicing with disaster by putting the ball in the back of the net.

Conall McGinty