Addition by subtraction: Why Arsenal will thrive without Oxlade-Chamberlain

If the critics were the measuring stick in the days after the transfer deadline, Arsenal's season was over the second Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was shipped to Liverpool - a team that embarrassed the Gunners just days earlier.

Although the writing was on the wall, manager Arsene Wenger held out hope right up until the final day that Oxlade-Chambrlain would stay and continue his promising career in an Arsenal strip.

Yet, it should've been clear that Oxlade-Chamberlain was set to leave when he refused to sign a new contract, even after Wenger accommodated his request and slotted him into the middle of the pitch despite flashes of becoming a brilliant winger.

There was nothing Wenger or the club could do to prevent the inevitable, as Arsenal reluctantly accepted Liverpool's £40-million bid.

But, unlike what Arsenal's many critics would lead one to believe, the sky did not fall on the Emirates as Arsenal responded to Oxlade-Chamberlain's departure with a result Wenger's side would've expected to achieve with the 24-year-old in the squad.

Signs of a dip in form or a struggle to fill the void left by the English international were non-existent during Arsenal's first test in the post Oxlade-Chamberlain era, with the Gunners easing to a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth.

Although Saturday's opponent was hardly one that strikes fear into any top-10 Premier League club, there were a number of positive takeaways for Arsenal that should help quell talks of yet another crisis.

Without the obligation of meeting Oxlade-Chamberlain's positional demands, Wenger has the freedom to deploy a team without the risk of playing someone out of their preferred spot, as his three-man defensive scheme was complemented by Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin on the wings while Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck slotted in behind Alexandre Lacazette.

Much like his Arsenal tenure, there was never really a moment during Saturday's fixture when there was a legitimate need to have Oxlade-Chamberlain on the pitch, as Arsenal continued as if he never left and was, once again, just another unused option off the bench.

There was, however, a desire Saturday at the Etihad Stadium to see if Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a difference-maker as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp handed him his debut in an effort to overturn a 2-0 half-time deficit. Instead, the match spiralled out of control as Manchester City cruised to a 5-0 triumph as Oxlade-Chamberlain seemingly disappeared minutes after coming on.

The blinding speed is an obvious trademark of his game, but Oxlade-Chamberlain, in the end, never proved he was worthy of usurping one of Arsenal's many options available to be selected as a dependable options up the middle.

Just as Arsenal legend Thierry Henry pointed out Saturday, it's difficult to identify an aspect of Oxlade-Chamberlain's game in which he's excelled beyond the skillset that accompanied him upon his arrival from Southampton to Arsenal in 2011.

"I have been watching him for a very long time and I still don't know what he's good at," Henry said.

The long-term prospect of his lucrative transfer to the Merseyside, ultimately, could prove to be a success depending on what kind of impact Klopp has on his career and the years ahead of him to prove he's worthy of the transfer-record fee Arsenal collected.