Arsenal central defender Calum Chambers has heaped huge praise on club captain Per Mertesacker and claimed that he has been a “mentor” since he arrived at the club.
The 22-year-old spent the whole of last season out on loan to Middlesborough where he featured in 25 Premier League matches and helped keep a total of seven clean sheets in the process.
The youngster’s contribution was not enough to prevent the side from being relegated straight back to the Championship.
The defender is currently away on international duty with the England Under-21 national team in the European Championships in Poland and Chambers has played the full 90 minutes in every match of the tournament so far.
Speaking ahead of the semi-final clash against Germany on Tuesday, Chambers spoke to the Telegraph and praised the influence of fellow teammate Mertesacker during his three year spell at the North London club.
“The one player who has helped me a lot would be Per Mertesacker,” he said.
“Being in the same position, he was almost like my mentor for a couple of years. I have never seen a player so professional, dedicated. For him mentally, every little thing he could do he did.
“That’s rubbed off on me, there were times when he would be looking at me and say ‘you could do this’ and that’s rubbed off. That’s helped me realise the little things you do, the tiny little one or two per cents, get you where you want to be.”
The German defender endured a tough campaign as he suffered from a terrible knee injury which ruled him out for the majority of the season.
The 32-year-old only managed to feature in two matches last season but he still produced an outstanding performance in the FA Cup final against Premier League champions Chelsea where Arsenal came away with a 2-1 victory.