The young Arsenal and England defender Calum Chambers may have had the sort of game he would rather forget on Monday against Liverpool, and he has taken his fair share of stick for is as well, but I do not think that it will mean a great deal in the long term.
The versatile 20-year old is still, in my opinion, set for a great career with the Gunners and there are a few good reasons to suggest that his performance against Liverpool will turn out to be a blip or a rare off day. First of all, we have seen him play a lot better for Arsenal, England and Southampton, both in the centre of defence and at right back, so we know he can do it.
Secondly, a similar thing happened to Chambers last season when Swansea´s winger Jefferson Montero tied him up in knots. But his head never dropped and he bounced quickly back from that. This tells me that Chambers has got the right attitude and will take disappointments on the chin rather than taking them to heart.
You often hear the old football cliche that managers and players learn more from a defeat or a tough game than an easy win and if this is the case then Chambers should have learned a hell of a lot on Monday. To be fair to him he did improve in the second half, probably with the help of his team mates and coaching staff.
And these are another reason why Chambers will have a great career, with the likes of Steve Bould as well as Koscielny and Mertesacker to give him the benefit of their experience and as role models on the training ground. And now he has a new mentor, apparently, in the form of Petr Cech, as Chambers explained in an Arsenal.com report, along with praising the keeper for keeping Arsenal in the game.
The young Gunners said, “They were unbelievable saves at a crucial part of the game to keep us in it. That’s almost what he’s there for but they were fantastic saves and kept us in it at that point.
“It’s good to train with him. He’s always talking to me and helping me to improve my game, which is really useful.
“In training he’ll come up to me during the session or after the session and say, ‘This was good, you could maybe do this or try this’.
“It’s always great to have someone who can help you.”
He may not be the finished article yet, but Chambers has the ability, attitude and the right people around him to ensure he becomes as good as possible.