ALEX Oxlade-Chamberlain is confident Alan Pardew will guide Newcastle United away from trouble in the second half of the season.

Oxlade-Chamberlain scored Arsenal's second goal on Saturday as the Gunners claimed a remarkable 7-3 victory that plunged the Magpies deeper into trouble at the foot of the Premier League table.

Newcastle are just three points clear of the relegation zone ahead of Wednesday's home game with Everton, and 15th position represents their lowest placing of a calendar year that began impressively, but which has descended into chaos.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has first-hand experience of working with Pardew as the Newcastle manager gave him his first taste of senior football as a teenager at Southampton,.

And while Newcastle's current position might appear bleak, the England international is confident his former boss will turn the Magpies around over the course of the next five months.

“I'm sure Newcastle will back him 100 per cent and he has all of the qualities to turn this around,” said Oxlade-Chamberlain. “He's a likeable character and he tells the boys how it is. He doesn't beat around the bush and players respect that.

“He gives good advice when you need to do better, and that's always important. He's shown he can come back from difficult moments. He's had results in the past that have been tough, but his teams always come back fighting. It's never easy to play any of his teams, so I'm confident he will do well.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain was a relative unknown in the Southampton academy when Pardew plucked him from the youth team and promoted him to the first-team squad.

The winger made his senior debut at the age of 16, was an established member of the Saints side less than a year later and has not looked back since making a £12m move to Arsenal in August 2011.

“He (Pardew) was a crucial person in my development,” he said. “The way he brought me into the first team was really the start of my career. He brought me into a first-team environment and gave me my debut, and he was the one who had me training with the senior players from an early age.

“I think I was only 16 at the time, so he was really good to me and influential in my career. I thank him for that. I said hello to him (on Saturday) and he has shown that he's a great manager.”