According to a report by Football Transfer on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, Arsenal reportedly had to pay Southampton £10,000 every time Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played at least 20 minutes, according to details revealed in Alan Gernon's book, The Transfer Market: The Inside Stories, which explores football transfer dealings during the midfielder's time at the Emirates Stadium.

Football London revisited Gernon's account, which suggested that the financial clause influenced Arsenal's decision to use Oxlade-Chamberlain mainly as a substitute. However, an examination of his overall Premier League starting record indicates that this was not entirely the case.

Oxlade-Chamberlain started more than half of his matches for Arsenal, while several of his appearances as a substitute also lasted beyond the 20-minute requirement. This suggests that the agreement did not stop the midfielder from regularly playing significant minutes for the club.

A review of his appearances indicates that he played for 20 minutes or fewer on approximately 60 occasions. However, determining the exact number remains difficult because some of his substitutions took place close to the 70th minute.

These borderline appearances have raised questions about whether stoppage time was included when calculating the contractual requirement. Without access to the original agreement, it is difficult to establish how Arsenal and Southampton handled such situations.

Nevertheless, the approximately 60 shorter appearances suggest that Arsenal may have avoided around £600,000 in potential payments by substituting or introducing him before the 20-minute threshold on those occasions.

His other 138 appearances for Arsenal reportedly lasted at least 21 minutes, triggering payments of approximately £1.38 million to Southampton. The agreement was said to have included a £3 million limit, although Oxlade-Chamberlain left for Liverpool before reaching that amount.

Although £1.38 million was a considerable financial commitment, Arsenal were facing difficult financial circumstances during that period. However, deliberately restricting the midfielder's playing time to avoid additional payments could have cost the club valuable opportunities on the pitch.

Premier League prize money also made every position in the table important, with moving up one place reportedly worth more than £1 million. As a result, strong performances from Oxlade-Chamberlain could potentially have generated greater financial benefits for Arsenal than the appearance-related payments.