Chambers close to joining Southampton?
It was mentioned this week that Arsene Wenger was supposedly considering letting Calum Chambers move away from the Emirates for next season and the defender had a whole host of clubs interested in his signature.
After having a bit of a stop start career at Arsenal despite a very promising start two years ago, Chambers has largely failed to impress because of a lack of consistent playing time. Of course that’s not the youngsters fault, but neither Arsene Wenger’s, because of course you have to play with the best players available to you and unfortunately for Calum, he isn’t quite hitting the right heights at the moment. Last season it was very much a case of an odd appearance here and therefore before disappearing from the lineup entirely for the next month or so.
Therefore according to the Daily Mirror, Wenger has decided to let Calum Chambers leave Arsenal on loan next season. It was mentioned before that Swansea, Crystal Palace, Watford, Bournemouth and Southampton were all interested in the England Under 21 star, but it seems the latter, Southampton, are going to win the race for Chambers.
Calum started his career with the Saints playing a handful of games before moving to the Arsenal in a big money transfer two years ago. I think Southampton would be the perfect place for Chambers to develop and get experience because he already knows the club, the team and so will fit straight back in. The other thing is that Southampton are arguably the most likely team out of all of them to go to higher places next season, which will give him a chance of gaining experience on all fronts rather than being potentially involved in a straining relegation battle.
I think Chambers would thrive off the experience he would gain on loan at Southampton and grow into the player that is expected from his potential. But this all depends on whether Wenger can identify another centre back, otherwise we could find ourselves very short in defence once the inevitable injuries kick in.
By AH