Saturday 11 February 2017 11:41, UK
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has admitted he apologised to Arsene Wenger after "accidentally" liking a tweet which called for the Frenchman to be sacked following Arsenal's defeat to Chelsea last weekend.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was caught having liked a Twitter post from popular YouTube channel, Arsenal Fan TV, with a video entitled "Wenger Needs to Go!" following the Gunners' 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
But Oxlade-Chamberlain, speaking to Sky Sports' Patrick Davison ahead of Arsenal's Sky Live clash with Hull at the Emirates at lunchtime on Saturday, revealed the situation had been resolved.
"It was a complete and utter accident," he said. "I think people know me as a character and if I'd meant to have done that, it would have been out of character for me.
"The title of the tweet I accidentally liked wasn't ideal but we've sorted it out. I spoke to the manager about it and explained the accident. I might not go on Twitter again too soon after games."
When asked if Wenger knew what had happened, the England international added: "He didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He just heard the word accident and we moved on."
Arsenal's chances of winning the Premier League title suffered a major blow with defeat to Chelsea, leaving Wenger's men 12 points behind the league leaders.
Since the defeat, the Gunners have been criticised for familiar failings against a title rival, with the manager's future again called into question.
Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted it is difficult for the players to avoid the debate that follows such a disappointing defeat.
"Of course you see it, you'd be lying if you said you didn't see it," he said.
"I try not to look at the media as such but nowadays social media is everywhere and everyone dabbles in it and without trying to see something, it will pop up somewhere. It's frustrating to see and it's not nice to see, but you understand the fans' situation and their frustrations as well.
"They want us to do well and they want us to win the big games as much as we do. It's hard to gauge how much you listen to and how much of it you try and dismiss, but ultimately it's important we hear what the fans are saying because they are a massive part of this club and without them, we're nothing.
"That's obviously key but at the same time, you've got to filter that so it doesn't affect you negatively because we've still got a job to do moving forward."
After back-to-back defeats against Watford and Chelsea, Arsenal sit fourth in the Premier League table, three points behind Tottenham in second and just one point ahead of Liverpool in fifth.
Oxlade-Chamberlain says Arsenal are determined to get their season back on track at home to Hull.
"It needs to happen," he said. "It's not going to be an easy game. I saw Hull play against Manchester United not long ago and saw how well they defended.
"I'm sure they'll come to Arsenal and try and do the same, so it's going to be difficult but for us now, it's almost now or never.
"We know we need to turn this around right now this weekend and we are all focused on that. Everyone's 100 per cent committed to doing that for sure. However, it comes down to the result on the weekend and we need to get the right one."
Watch Patrick Davison's interview with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ahead of Arsenal's match with Hull City, live on Sky Sports 1 HD and Sky Sports Mix from 11.30am on Saturday.
