Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says Arsenal's new signing Calum Chambers has what it takes to go right to the very top.
The former England U19 captain joined the Gunners from Southampton in July, and impressed at the heart of Arsenal’s defence as The FA Cup winners beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
Chambers also featured the previous weekend in the Emirates Cup, and his new team-mate and fellow Saints academy graduate says his early-season performances are a sign of things to come.
Calum Chambers was outstanding on his Arsenal debut
"I'm just trying to take Calum under my wing and show him the ropes. He's a really good lad and everyone really likes him - the boys really want to go out of their way to help him bed in," said Oxlade-Chamberlain.
"We saw him play for Arsenal for the first time at the Emirates Cup and I thought he was superb for a 19-year-old playing centre back, against really good players. I thought he looked very assured and he's going to be a great talent for the club.
"It's really good to see him here. It's almost weird because I can remember being in his position a few years ago - coming from Southampton to a big club like Arsenal - even though Southampton is a big club."
Chambers led the England U19s throughout 2013-14, and despite falling just short of the mark in the Elite Round of qualification for the UEFA European U19 Champions – the youngster impressed the on-looking Arsenal scouts in the games against Montenegro, Scotland and Ukraine.
Two months later the deal was done, and Chambers had made the short move from the south coast to north London.
“I thought he was superb for a 19-year-old playing centre back, against really good players”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
And despite the change in the two statures of the clubs, Oxlade-Chamberlain says Chambers is settling in well.
"To come to a team like Arsenal, he's playing with players like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez," he told Arsenal Player.
"When you move to a team like Arsenal it's very surprising to start off with, but he has settled in really quickly and all the boys love him.
"He's already trying to look after me, he's on the pitch trying to tell me to switch on and that's a really good sign because it shows he's feeling confident and comfortable and that's what we like to see.
"He seems like he's enjoying himself so I think he's going to have a good time here."
Arsenal and Chambers begin their Premier League season on Saturday against Crystal Palace at the Emirates, before travelling to Turkey to take on Besiktas in a Champions League qualifier three days later.
