Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has backed Southampton to have a successful campaign in the Premier League this season.
The 19-year-old played for the Saints in 2010-11 and helped them gain promotion to the Championship before joining the Gunners.
Southampton then won promotion to the English top flight at the end of the 2011-12 campaign, and Oxlade-Chamberlain is pleased with his former club's achievements.
"I didn't ever doubt they'd have a really successful season the year I left," he told the Official Matchday Programme.
"They have a lot of very good players there like Adam Lallana, Morgan Schneiderlin, Jose Fonte and Rickie Lambert, so I always know they'd do well and am really happy about what happened.
"I wasn't at all surprised to see them go straight back up, because they've got a really tight group down there, a good team spirit with everyone singing from the same hymn sheet, a good management team and a good chairman. Everything's in place for them."
Arsenal will welcome Southampton at the Emirates on Saturday.
Subhankar Mondal
