‘Willock can just glide past people’

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has hailed Chris Willock’s ability to “glide past people effortlessly”.

After impressing for the first team in pre-season, the 18-year-old is set to feature for Arsenal Under-23s at Emirates Stadium on Friday – LIVE on Arsenal.com - and Oxlade–Chamberlain believes the youngster’s natural ability could help him make the next step up in his career.

• Watch tonight's under-23 game LIVE on Arsenal.com
• Read Willock's thoughts ahead of tonight's game
• 'What Willock has is tough to find'

“Chris is a great player,” the England international told Arsenal Player. “He is a typical Arsenal player - left foot, right foot, very technical and he dribbles with the ball really nicely.

“My dad used to tell me about Chris Waddle who used to go past players as if they weren’t there at his own speed as if it is effortless. Chrissy Willock has that about him, he can glide past people and looks really nice on the ball.

“As I said, he is a great player. He can score goals as well, which is crucial as the older you get with the end of product and stuff. He has shown, ever since I have been aware of him or watched him, he can score goals for the youth team or the reserve team. He is a great player and I’m sure he has a really big future ahead of him.

“I think [young players] have to be tested, because that is where they ultimately want to get to and that is what they are working towards - being involved in the first team week in, week out,” Oxlade-Chamberlain added.

“The young boys that have come up are really confident lads, and we have a good group of players here that anyone can come into and feel quite comfortable. They are tested for sure on a daily basis and everyone demands the best out of them only because they are great players.

“We all know they are really good players and thats why they are training with us. You have to help them out and ease them in, but at the same time you have to keep pushing them to get them where they need to get to which I’m sure they all can.”