It is no great secret that Arsene Wenger would have preferred to keep Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at Arsenal if it were at all possible.
That the English winger chose a move to Liverpool, a prominent rival of Arsenal's for those top four Champions League slots, it probably didn't sit too well with the long-serving Frenchman.
After suffering a comprehensive 4-0 defeat at Anfield in late August, Wenger will be aware that tonight's return fixture is one his side may not afford to lose. Sitting a point behind fourth-placed Liverpool, and only two ahead of seventh-placed Tottenham, the balance of Arsenal's season can take a decisively upward turn with victory tonight.
One man returning to the Emirates Stadium for the first time is Liverpool's Oxlade-Chamberlain, although whether his appearance is one off the bench or in a starting berth remains to be seen.
Having moved to Liverpool in the hope of securing a starting spot that he wasn't willing to wait for any longer at Arsenal, his former manager openly questioned Oxlade-Chamberlain's attitude ahead of tonight's clash:
What do you want to be, a big player and not have to fight? You can't be a big player, sit in your rocking chair and say I do not want to fight.
It doesn't work like that. Every player has to fight. I am convinced it is an important part of being a top player.
While the 24-year old England international may resent Wenger's portrayal of him sitting in his "rocking chair", Oxlade-Chamberlain has had little option but to fight for Jurgen Klopp's favour since moving to Liverpool in August.
With 10 of his 15 Premier League appearances for Liverpool coming from the bench, Oxlade-Chamberlain has so far failed to nail down a place in Liverpool's starting XI; despite the club paying £35 million for him in the summer.
Is it a scenario that Oxlade-Chamberlain can overcome? Wenger, his manager of six years, doesn't sound convinced:
Is he sure of a place there? You are sure of a place nowhere.
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