Arsenal reportedly had to pay an extra £10,000 every time Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appeared for 20 minutes or more during his six years at the Emirates Stadium. The clause was included when the England international moved to Arsenal from Southampton in 2011 for £15million.

The fee was paid out in an initial £12million, with an extra £3million in bonuses. Arsenal had to pay an extra £10,000 every time Oxlade-Chamberlain played for 20 minutes or more.

It was reported in Alan Gernon’s book ‘The Transfer Market: The Inside Stories’ in 2018 and could explain why he played quite a bit off the bench during his early years at the club.

Many Arsenal fans have questioned why the midfielder was often played off the bench, sometimes as late as the 71st minute. He only started 115 games in his 198 appearances. Wenger would have had to be careful with how much he played.

Over the course of his six years at the club, Arsenal would have paid Southampton around £1.4million in appearance bonuses. This is nearly half of the £3million extra that could be paid.

The clause was also mentioned in an episode of the That Peter Crouch Podcast in 2024. Peter Crouch (Former Liverpool striker) and Steve Sidwell (Former Chelsea midfielder) discussed it. Crouch explained how Arsenal would have to pay extra every time Oxlade-Chamberlain played for 20 minutes or more.

Oxlade-Chamberlain left for Liverpool in 2017 in a £40million move, making him the most expensive player to leave at the time. He won the Premier League, Champions League and EFL Cup in his six years at Anfield. However, he moved to Besiktas in 2023 and then later joined Celtic earlier in 2026.

At international level, he has won 35 caps for England between 2012 and 2019. He has also won three FA Cup winners medals.

This shows an interesting insight into how complicated football transfers can be financially and how small clauses in contracts can affect how much a player plays.