A precociously talented winger whose eye-catching displays for Arsenal FC have earned him a place in England's UEFA EURO 2012 squad, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been tipped for a glittering career. At 18 he will be one of the youngest players on show in Poland and Ukraine and a potential ace up England's sleeve.

• The son of former England winger Mark Chamberlain, he was born in Portsmouth but joined the academy of nearby Southampton FC at seven and worked his way up the youth ladder, making his senior debut on 2 March 2010, aged 16 years 199 days.

• Scored his first senior goal for the Saints five days before his 17th birthday and went on to play a leading role in the club's 2010/11 League One (third tier) promotion-winning campaign, scoring nine goals in 34 appearances and earning a place in the PFA League One Team of the Year.

• Followed in the footsteps of another Southampton prodigy, Theo Walcott, by moving to Arsenal, where he made an immediate impact, scoring his first goal in a League Cup game against Shrewsbury Town FC and finding the net on his UEFA Champions League debut – after just eight minutes – against Olympiacos FC.

• Active for England at Under-18 and U19 level, he starred for the U21 side in their bid to qualify for the 2013 European finals, notably with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win in Iceland.

• Scored his first two Premier League goals for Arsenal in a 7-1 triumph against Blackburn Rovers FC on 4 February 2012 and starred in a 3-0 defeat of AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League a month later.