The Arsenal and England defender Calum Chambers was said to be set for a return to fitness a few weeks ago, and with Arsene Wenger suffering a mini injury crisis in that section of the Arsenal squad, it would have been great timing. Not just for the boss or the club either, but for Chambers who could really have done with a chance to play and impress enough to get back into first team contention on a regular basis.
Unluckily for the former Southampton star, his hip injury did not get better and so his last appearance is still the Carabao Cup win over Doncaster Rovers over a month ago. That is not his only bit of bad luck either, because after seeing his former England under 21 teammate Rob Holding overtake him in the thoughts of his manager, at club level anyway as Chambers stayed ahead of Holding with the three lions, he now has the forgotten Frenchman Matthieu Debuchy to contend with.
Many Arsenal fans were surprised to see Debuchy not join the list of players shipped out of Arsenal this summer, but he now seems to have won back the trust of his manager and could even start to feature for us in the Premier League again, reports the Evening Standard.
Wenger said, “We are all very pleased for him here because he has gone through some very difficult moments with setbacks. The fact that he got through 120 minutes the other night is a huge boost for him. He needs to recover now but from now on, he’ll be a candidate to fight for the team places again.
“Mathieu is absolutely strong and determined as well. He’s a quiet character but a very strong one. I must say he’s 100 per cent a professional player. Everybody in the medical department just says he’s exceptional.
“Maybe his future is as a centre-back. He has the attributes because, despite his size, he’s very good in the air. You think he couldn’t play centre back because he’s not tall, but if you look at the number of balls he wins in the air, it’s impressive.”
Chambers, like Debuchy was a specialist right back but seemed a lot more versatile, but with Debuchy now impressing Wenger as a right sided part of a back three, how on earth does Chambers fit in? Has the return of the Matt signalled the end for the Arsenal career of young Calum?
Bob.