Has Bellerin overtaken Calum Chambers as Right Back? By Twig
Much has been said about the stellar performances of Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin in our last game,
but the very impressive performance of Hector Bellerin has pretty much gone unnoticed. Bellerin has had
both highs and lows at right back for Arsenal. Against Stoke he had a torrid time and had to be hauled off
at half time, but he had been quite impressive ever since. What is most encouraging is his humility and
willingness to learn:
“When Bacary was here, I used to look at his games and analyse him, because I think he was one of the
best players we used to have on the pitch. When Jenko or Calum play, it’s about analysing the things they
do right and wrong”
The most impressive thing about him as a player is his pace. Against City he made many overlapping runs that helped
us going forward. We didn’t have that with either Sagna and Debuchy. He’s not the strongest defender though,
but what he lacks in strength, he compensates with his pace which allows him to keep up with opposing wingers.
Chambers had been a revelation since he came. However, it is worth noticing that his most impressive displays
have been as a centre-back not as a right back (even though, he was bought as a right back). On the flanks,
he lacks the necessary pace to keep up with opposing players, and he doesn’t quite look nimble enough
for the role. On the discipline side, he has picked up 6 yellows and 1 red card, the most by any Arsenal player.
He has had a cameo in defensive midfield as well, which didn’t go too well. It appears, his long term position
is going to be as centre-back, possibly to take over from Mertesacker in the future…
Chambers is still a young player, and Wenger himself had admitted he might have overplayed him a bit. The
recent impressive performances of Hector Bellerin should definitely continue to be rewarded until Debuchy
returns. Like Wenger himself said, “Having to find solutions internally is a blessing”. Hopefully, our 2 internal
solutions for this season – Coquelin and Bellerin – continue to live up to the occasion, which will allow us
save enough money for that Cavani bid I know we’ve all been waiting for? 😉
Twig