English star gives his insight into the Celtic and Rangers rivalry and how the warnings from Scotland captain rang true14:26, 26 Mar 2026Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain lifts lid on 'Gladiator' Rangers battles as he reveals frank Celtic derby chat with Andy Robertson Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has opened up on Celtic battles at Ibrox and says it’s like being a Gladiator.The English star fully came to terms with the warnings from ex-Liverpool team-mate Andy Robertson having featured twice against Rangers in a week this month.Oxlade-Chamberlain had been told by the Scotland captain to expect a scrap and that’s exactly what he got over the seismic double-header.Martin O’Neill’s side came away with a Premiership point before coming through a penalty shoot-out Scottish Cup success seven days later to progress to the semi-finals.Chaotic and unsavoury scenes followed the second clash with supporters on the pitch and tensions rising in the tunnel area.Oxalde-Chamberlain gave his assessment on the fixture during an appearance on In the Mixer – brought to you by Sky Bet – when asked about the rivalry and playing against Rangers twice in quick succession.He replied: “I don’t know if we’ve played them. We’ve had a few scraps with them, but there wasn’t much soccer from us! It’s just different.“I can’t explain exactly why, it’s just different. And I think I spoke to Robbo after the first game, and I didn’t have a good game, I came off at half time.“And I said to Robbo, that wasn’t pretty. He said: I told you, it’s not football, that game is not, it’s not pretty, it’s a war and you find a way to win.”It was then put to Oxlade-Chamberlain if it was gladiators and he added: “Literally it is, it is. Like even off the pitch, in the tunnel, like the rivalry between staff and players.“You’re either one or the other. There’s no sitting on the fence up there. You’re either your Rangers or Celtic and that’s it.”View ImageCeltic's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during a clash with Motherwell (Image: SNS Group)Oxlade-Chamberlain is soaking up the Celtic experience having signed on a loan deal as a free agent at the beginning of February after leaving Besiktas and having a lengthy training stint back in London at Arsenal prior to the Parkhead move.The 32-year-old’s career with the champions got off to a flying start when he stepped from the bench to hit a stoppage-time winner against Livingston on his debut.At that point, Celtic were putting serious heat onto Hearts, but recent shipped points have left them five behind the leaders and trailing in third spot in the table.The demands on Celtic are huge to deliver trophies and fight back in the race and Oxlade-Chamberlain admits he’s enjoying the challenge.He said: “I think just being back in in the country and in this this culture. Obviously I went to Turkey for a couple of years and it’s a different culture out there and the way that they see the game and just being in a dressing room with not many English or no English lads really, it’s different.“So I think coming back into a good group of lads that are like-minded and shared similar experiences, it’s really good and I’m lucky enough to be at another club that’s massive and is really competitive and there’s pressure and expectation and all of those things. It’s just exciting and it is a big, big club.”Oxlade-Chamberlain is in the latter stages of a glittering career which has seen him feature at the top level in England at Arsenal and Liverpool, where he won a Champions League alongside Robertson within Jurgen Klopp’s squad.The midfielder also won 35 caps for England having first been called into the squad as a teenager and admits to being starstruck amongst elite players including a former Rangers manager.Oxlade-Chamberlain said: “I’m seeing Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. At that time, it felt like more old school mentality. If you played for a big club, you were a big professional, then you go to England.“So at 18, I’m playing with John Terry, Ashley Cole, Rooney, Stevie G, Frank Lampard. There’s not a player that’s not a world beater in my eyes there.“I don’t think you really have time to think about too much. It’s like: Okay, what can I learn from you boys quick enough so that I don’t sink in this environment and I can somewhat hold my own?“That’s the mentality you’ve got to have, as much as you’re just a bit starstruck and in awe of these guys, soon as it’s football, I’ve got to show them how good I am.”Oxlade-Chamberlain has worked under the best coaches such as Klopp and says he learned plenty in the early Arsenal days from Arsene Wenger.He said: “He probably taught me a lot of stuff that, at 18, you don’t know you’re learning. But ultimately I came there as a boy, as a kid, and ended up leaving at 24, so more towards being a man.“I probably learned a lot life skills from him and how he approached high pressure situations. People ask me that a lot: What do you learn from Arsene?Article continues below“And it’s not necessarily one thing that he would do or did. It was probably more just his humility, strive to be the best, but also be really humble about it as well.“A lot of our football talk was about life and not and bringing it away from football so you learn more about being a man with Arsene than I think then you do necessarily something specific about football. It was that holistic approach.”ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: Subscribe now to be the first to watch the latest episodes of In The Mixer and other original shows, brought to you by Sky Bet. Watch All Out Football's episode with The Ox here.