Celtic have signed former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The 32-year-old England international, who has 35 caps, joins the Scottish champions as a free agent on a contract running until the end of the season with an option to extend for a further 12 months. He is the fifth player to arrive since Martin O’Neill returned for a second spell as interim manager. Sky Sports News had reported Celtic’s interest earlier in the week, and O’Neill said fresh discussions on Friday showed the player wanted the move. Oxlade-Chamberlain had been training with Arsenal after mutually terminating his contract with Turkish side Besiktas in August. O’Neill welcomed the signing, praising Oxlade-Chamberlain’s quality, experience and desire to contribute, and said the player could add a new dimension to the squad. Speaking to Celtic TV, Oxlade-Chamberlain described the transfer as an exciting new challenge. He said talks with O’Neill and Shaun Maloney convinced him the club’s expectations and environment were the right fit and that he was motivated to help the team reach its targets. The new signing was introduced to supporters at Celtic Park as the club progressed with a Scottish Cup win against Dundee. He joins a flurry of recent arrivals as Celtic look to close the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts, including loan signings Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu, Joel Mvuka and Benjamin Arthur. Julian Araujo also arrived on loan from Bournemouth in January under former boss Wilfried Nancy. Oxlade-Chamberlain could feature in Celtic’s next league fixture away to bottom club Livingston, followed by a trip to Kilmarnock, but he will not be eligible for the Europa League knockout play-off against Stuttgart because his registration was not completed in time. O’Neill has named Cvancara, Araujo and Adamu in the European squad instead, meaning deadline-day arrivals Arthur and Mvuka will miss out on the continental tie.
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