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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 'relishing' chance to fill Philippe Coutinho void

Ox 'relishing' chance to fill Coutinho void
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain acknowledges that he has a chance to hold down a regular starting spot at Liverpool following the high-profile departure of Philippe Coutinho.

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has insisted that he is ready to "stand up and perform" as he looks to fill the void left by Barcelona-bound Philippe Coutinho.

The Reds finally lost Coutinho to the Catalan giants earlier this week, pocketing up to £142m with add-ons for their key playmaker.

Coutinho's departure opens a gap in midfield for Oxlade-Chamberlain to slot into, and the former Arsenal ace is prepared to make it his own after being eased into the role by Jurgen Klopp since arriving in the summer.

"Of course it's an opportunity for me, just as it is for all the rest of the boys who want to play there," he told Sky Sports News. "It is our job to keep the wheels moving and momentum going.

"I am the type of person who relishes the chance to stand up and perform under pressure, I have had to do that my whole career. I was at a big club previously and being at big one now, you know you are always going to have to perform under pressure.

"I haven't really even thought about Phil leaving. You realise it happens but you can't start thinking 'What are we going to do now that Phil is not here?' It can't be that at all. It's business as usual.

"When Phil wasn't in the team we still played great football and we have still amazing players who can score goals - the likes of Mohamed [Salah], Sadio [Mane], Roberto [Firmino]. The fact is he has gone now and we have to think 'What have we got that is going to get the job done?'.

"I have every faith in the boys that we just move on now. I don't think it should affect us at all. When a big player leaves, a big player leaves. You're at a big club like Liverpool, another big player will come in the future. I wish Phil all the very best but the only thing I'm concentrating on is Liverpool and winning as many games as we can - starting with Man City on Sunday."

Oxlade-Chamberlain has 19 Premier League outings under his belt since joining in a £35m deal, with 12 of those coming from the bench.

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Daniel Lewis
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Ederson collides with Sadio Mane during the Premier League game between Manchester City and Liverpool on September 9, 2017
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool23175156213556
2Arsenal24148249222750
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest24145540271347
4Chelsea24127547311643
5Manchester CityMan City24125748351341
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle24125742291341
7Bournemouth24117641281340
8Aston Villa2410773437-337
9Fulham249963632436
10Brentford24103114342133
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton248973539-433
12Crystal Palace247982830-230
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd2485112834-629
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs24831348371127
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham2476112946-1727
16Everton236892328-526
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2454153452-1819
18Leicester CityLeicester2445152553-2817
19Ipswich TownIpswich2437142249-2716
20Southampton2423191854-369


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