Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rejects new Gunners deal and waits to be told if he can quit club for Chelsea
England star snubs £180,000-a-week contract at Emirates and Gunners will now decide if they will sanction his planned move to Stamford Bridge
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN has rejected a new £180,000-a-week deal at Arsenal and told the club he wants to leave.
The England star met with Arsene Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis on Thursday for crunch talks over his future.
And Oxlade-Chamberlain is understood to have rejected the bumper new contract on the table and revealed he wanted to move.
Now the Gunners will spend the next day deciding whether to make the 24-year-old see out the last 12 months of his contract or cash in on him before the transfer window closes.
Chelsea have lodged two bids already for the midfielder and are looking to secure a £35m deal by the end of the month.
The decision will come as a major blow to manager Arsene Wenger, who has been desperate to keep the player in his squad.
Only yesterday he made an impassioned plea for Oxlade-Chamberlain to commit his future to Arsenal, insisting he wanted to build his team around the player.
Wenger believes he is finally reaching his full potential after spending six years with the Gunners developing his game since joining from Southampton.
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But that has not been enough to persuade Oxlade-Chamberlain he is better off staying in north London for the good of his career.
The player is understood to have been frustrated at not always being given a long run in the side under Wenger, which he has felt has stifled his development.
And with the club missing out on Champions League football this season, there is also the attraction of playing in the top competition elsewhere.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has been hoping to bring him into his squad all summer, and the Premier League champions are hoping to push through a move next week.
But they also face competition from Liverpool, where manager Jurgen Klopp has been a long-term fan of the player.
Liverpool have made several attempts to tempt Oxlade-Chamberlain to Anfield in the past, and Klopp believes he could easily fit into his team on Merseyside.
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