Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain probably thought he had ruined any chance of Liverpool signing him after his performance against them a fortnight ago.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was dragged off during the 4-0 thrashing at Anfield but Jurgen Klopp was still willing to spend £35 million on the England international on transfer deadline day.
Going into the match, there was plenty of speculation linking the 24-year-old with a move to the Merseysiders so it was pretty surprising that Arsene Wenger decided to field him in the first place.
And just days after the humiliation, Oxlade-Chamberlain was a Liverpool player.
And it hasn’t taken Wenger long to start pointing fingers.
In an interview on Thursday, the Frenchman has shockingly accused Liverpool of ‘tapping-up’ Oxlade-Chamberlain.
“Even in the games, you sit there before the games and even in players’ minds they have no clarity. Are they in? Are they out? Are they half in? Are they half out? Are they tapped up in the afternoon of the game by people who want to get them out?” Wenger said.
“You are not naïve enough to think that will not happen. Have they been tapped up? Of course. But on the day of a game? I don’t think so, I hope not. But it’s inevitable.
“If I am a football player, I can perform even if Liverpool is in my head.
"I don’t think that should stop you to perform. Did it? I think he (Oxlade-Chamberlain) was not worse than any other player on the football pitch. I don’t want to go into individual cases, I just think in general.”
Liverpool have previous
Of course, it’s not the first time Liverpool have been accused of ‘tapping-up’ this summer.
After the Reds looked set to sign Virgil van Dijk, Southampton reported them to the Premier League for their approach and Liverpool soon withdrew their interest and apologised.
With them being banned from signing academy players and having a suspended sentence, Liverpool know they can’t afford to get into any further trouble with their transfer negotiations.
Whether Wenger decides to take his complaints any further remains to be seen.