Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's inability to nail down a starting slot in a struggling Celtic side has reinforced the theory that the hard and physical Scottish Premiership is not exactly a place for former English Premier League stars to head to in their twilight years with a view to coasting through to retirement.

Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived at Parkhead back in January with a sparkling CV that boasted a full house of domestic trophies in England plus a Champions League win and 35 international caps from spells at Southampton, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The 33-year-old has been unable to nail down a regular spot at Celtic Park, though, and was given a rare start at the weekend in the champions’ 2-0 loss away to Falkirk.

Here, in a Daily Mail Sport special, we look at five other big-name stars who have failed in Scotland in the wake of enjoying successful careers south of the border.

IAN WRIGHT

Arsenal legend Wright’s best days were long behind him when then Celtic manager John Barnes brought him in as a replacement for the injured Henrik Larsson up front during the 1999-2000 season.

Wright had been a sensation during his seven years at the Gunners, winning a full house of domestic trophies plus a European Cup-Winners’ Cup, but he’d been on loan at Nottingham Forest from West Ham before heading for Glasgow and was clearly over the hill at the age of 35.

He made 10 appearances in total during a short-lived spell that involved a 4-2 Old Firm loss and that infamous 3-1 Scottish Cup loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle that led to Barnes’ departure.

Wright also left soon after for Burnley and admitted the entire affair left a mark.

He told the BBC: ‘I felt I was caught up in a war crisis in Kosovo not involved in a football result that wrecked John Barnes' career as Celtic manager.

'Some so-called fans, a few morons who know nothing better, covered my car in spit. They were shouting obscenities at myself and Regi Blinker.’

JOEY BARTON

The former England midfielder had carved his reputation in the English Premier League during stays at Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers and arrived at Rangers in September 2016 on a two-year deal after inspiring Burnley to promotion from the Championship.

His time in Glasgow, however, proved to be a short-lived train wreck. He left in the wake of having his contract cancelled after eight games and 133 days.

Barton arrived, aged 34, blowing his own trumpet and aiming verbal volleys at then Celtic’s Scott Brown, but his stay very quickly unravelled and involved a 5-1 Old Firm humbling in the east end of Glasgow in which he was targeted by the Parkhead midfielder.

In the aftermath, a training-ground bust-up involving Andy Halliday saw Barton told to stay away from Rangers by manager Mark Warburton and later hit with a three-week suspension.

It was the beginning of the end. His contract was cancelled in November.

THOMAS GRAVESEN

The controversial Dane had earned a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid following five great years at Everton and arrived at Celtic from the Bernabeu on a three-year contract in August 2006 on a fee said to be in the region of £2million.

Gravesen did score a couple of goals against Rangers during his time in Glasgow, but never delivered the kind of performances required and failed to hold down a regular spot in the side by the end.

He played just 22 times before returning to Everton on a loan deal in August 2007. When the Goodison outfit refused to extend that arrangement, an agreement was struck to release him from his deal at Parkhead and he duly retired from playing.

Gravesen was hugely critical of then manager Gordon Strachan in later interviews.

‘Unfortunately, I ran into an opposition to myself in the form of a coach called Gordon Strachan. It did not work between him and me,’ he said.

‘Gordon was a defensively-minded coach of a world famous club. I could not understand why he did as he did at Celtic because we were so much better than the other teams. He was nervous about losing.’

AARON RAMSEY

The Welshman had won three FA Cups during a spell at Arsenal in addition to a Serie A title with Juventus when arriving on loan at Rangers from the Italian outfit in January 2022.

Rangers’ then sporting director Ross Wilson was quick to publicise his role in pulling the deal together and insisted it had sent a ripple of excitement through the dressing room at the Ibrox outfit.

However, Ramsey was unable to live up to expectations during the 13 appearances he made and was often battling fitness issues. He will be forever remembered for missing the decisive penalty-kick in the Europa League final shoot-out against Germans Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville after being sent on as a substitute by boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst late in extra-time.

Ramsey later told Four Four Two magazine: ‘I just wish that I’d played longer in the final. I felt I could have brought something different to the table had I come on a bit earlier.

‘I was essentially brought on solely to take a penalty in the shoot-out, which I’m not sure is the best idea. That played on my mind as I went to take it, instead of being clear about where I wanted to put it. I’m still gutted that I missed that penalty and gutted for the fans that we couldn’t lift the trophy for them.

'I was really excited to go to Rangers. I had a couple of injuries during my time there, which made it difficult to get into any kind of rhythm. I [also] had a horrible case of Covid shortly before I signed, which meant I didn’t arrive in the best shape and it was no surprise that my body broke down.’

JUNINHO

The little midfielder had won the World Cup with Brazil before arriving at Celtic in 2004. He had become a legend at Middlesbrough, where he had three spells as a player.

He’d been the subject of a £13million move to Atletico Madrid following his first spell in England and there remains a theory that he never quite recovered from a broken leg suffered in Spain in a match against Celta Vigo.

Juninho actually started well at Parkhead by stepping into the heat of an Old Firm derby and delivering a fine display as Martin O’Neill’s side recorded a one-goal win.

However, it quickly became clear he was a shadow of his former self and quickly slid onto the substitutes’ bench under O’Neill. By January, it had become clear he just wasn’t settling in and an agreement was made to release him from his contract after seven months and just 14 starts.

‘It was an awkward situation, and an especially frustrating one for me,’ recalled Juninho in later years.

‘I ended up in Scotland, but things didn’t really work out for me. I had this issue with Martin O’Neill and his tactics. I still can’t understand why he wanted me at Celtic. He used to play with a 4-4-2 and he asked me to play out wide with defensive responsibilities, but this was never my style. It didn’t suit me and he knew it.

‘Maybe inside his head, he wasn’t looking for the Juninho of the 90s and maybe I’m to blame for that, but a manager should know a player’s style.’