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The tables have finally been turned.

Chelsea have made a habit of beating Liverpool to the punch in recent years.

Willian, Mohamed Salah and Diego Costa all headed to Stamford Bridge after the Londoners won the race for their signatures.

The bright lights of London and the riches of Roman Abramovich enabled Chelsea to repeatedly hijack Liverpool’s plans. But not this time.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s £35million move to Liverpool has left the Premier League champions red-faced after he snubbed their advances and opted for Anfield instead.

Why? Well, it certainly wasn’t down to money. Having rejected Arsenal’s final contract offer of £180,000 per week, the 24-year-old could have earned more than that by linking up with Antonio Conte’s squad.

But instead of focusing on his bank balance, he has put his career first in agreeing a five-year contract at Liverpool worth less than he was offered to stay at the Emirates.

This is the move that Oxlade-Chamberlain has wanted all summer and it’s testament to the pulling power of Jurgen Klopp.

The England international made up his mind in the second half of last season that it was time for a fresh start.

After six years at Arsenal he felt things had gone stale. His progress had stalled. He was frustrated with life under Arsene Wenger. The Gunners’ attempts to get him to pen a new deal were always doomed to failure.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had long since been casting admiring glances towards Liverpool and their Klopp-inspired resurgence. He had seen how the likes of Emre Can and Roberto Firmino had blossomed under the guidance of Klopp and wanted his development to receive a similar shot in the arm ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

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England team-mates Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge were able to provide glowing recommendations about what it’s like working with Klopp.

Last December Klopp had dismissed as “nonsense” speculation that Liverpool were planning a January swoop for him. He wasn’t lying.

The Reds didn’t make a move for him in the winter window but he was on their radar for the summer and interest grew as his contract stand-off rumbled on.

Some will question the size of the fee for a player who is down to the final year of his deal and doesn’t appear likely to walk straight into Liverpool’s starting XI.

There was a stat doing the rounds that Martin Skrtel has scored more Premier League goals than Oxlade-Chamberlain over the past fours years and the Slovakian defender hasn’t even graced the top-flight for 15 months.

Concerns have also been raised about his injury record considering he sat out 76 matches during his spell in the capital.

However, he only missed three games last term and in 45 appearances in all competitions he provided 11 assists and six goals, despite being shunted into a number of different roles by Wenger.

The fact is that Liverpool’s squad desperately needed more depth to cope with the added demands of Champions League football this season and Oxlade-Chamberlain will help provide it.

He wants to play in an attacking role, preferably in the centre of midfield, but his versatility will also be important for Klopp, who believes he can help take his game to the next level.

Portsmouth-born, Oxlade-Chamberlain joined the Southampton Academy at the age of seven. He progressed through the ranks before making his senior debut against Huddersfield Town when he was 16 in 2010. After 43 outings for Saints, he was snapped up by Arsenal for £12million in August 2011.

There was a real buzz around him. Captain Robin van Persie compared him to Wayne Rooney and Marco van Basten labelled him “a gem” as he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

But he never really fulfilled his potential at Arsenal. He was dogged by inconsistency. In total he scored 20 goals for Arsenal in 198 outings - 115 starts and 83 as a sub.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is close friends with Raheem Sterling and the pair share an agent in Aidy Ward. Relations between Liverpool and Ward were strained two years ago when Sterling rejected a new contract and agitated for his £49millioon move to Manchester City.

But there was never any chance of Ward trying to steer Oxlade-Chamberlain away from Anfield. Speaking back in 2015 after Sterling had left, Ward said: “Would Raheem under Klopp have been a good scenario?

“Yes, 100%, definitely, mainly because of the person Klopp is - the passion, the drive, the emotion, wanting to achieve. Working with Klopp - that could have been great. He’s going to get the best out of those players. It could have been a dream come true.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain will get that opportunity.

He had the perfect view of Klopp’s work on Sunday as he was part of the Arsenal side humiliated by the Reds.

In luring him away from the Emirates, Liverpool didn’t just weaken one of their capital rivals, they also outflanked another.

This time the shoe was on the other foot for Chelsea. You can put that down to the Klopp factor.