Can Calum Chambers cement a place for himself in the Arsenal rearguard? by SE
Calum Chambers, in whatever we have seen of him during his early days at the Emirates, has done well and lived up to the lofty expectations of an Arsenal player. At just 19 years old, Chambers has shown a good head on his shoulders, and handled things pretty smoothly for a player who is still a new kid on the block and has a fair bit of learning to do. Fortunately, however, the former Southampton defender has found hell of a lot of game time, due to Per Mertesacker’s exertions at the world cup to go with injuries to Mathieu Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny, than what he would have anticipated at the time of completing his move to Arsenal. Going forward, can Chambers cement a place for himself in the Arsenal rearguard?
For Chambers to make a permanent spot for himself in the Arsenal rearguard, he would have to dethrone Mertesacker or Koscielny (when the Frenchman returns from injury) from the Arsenal backline, with pristine performances that force Arsene Wenger into preferring form players over players who have proven experience. And, as things stand, it’s difficult to see that happening. One of primary reasons is the stage in the careers of each one of the aforementioned personnel; Chambers, at 19, is bound to be overlooked because of the years he has got ahead of him, which is not the case with Mertesacker and Koscielny who consequently should/ are expected to play ahead of Chambers when fit.
The other debatable point is whether Wenger goes into the January transfer window intending to buy a backup defender, with so very little resources available to him currently. In that case, Winston Reid and Kostas Manolas could be potential candidates to make a switch to the Emirates from their current clubs, which could cast a doubt over Chambers’ place in the Arsenal rearguard.
However, as is already the case, Chambers’ versatility will always be an added advantage for him over other players (defenders, especially) in the Arsenal squad. His ability to play at Center-Back, Right-Back and as a defensive midfielder was what made Wenger splash out £16m to bring him to the Emirates and, when it comes to competition for places, Chambers has a good chance of getting the nod over others to play anywhere at the back or, just ahead, as defensive midfielder.
It is indeed difficult to see Chambers making a permanent spot for himself in the Arsenal rearguard at a time when Mertesacker and Koscielny are head-and-shoulders above the Englishman in terms of experience and quality. Also, once Debuchy returns from his ankle injury, the Frenchman is another frontrunner to play at Right-Back, which could further limit Chambers’ chances of playing in the Arsenal backline. However, this scenario should not impede Chambers from giving it his all whenever he is provided with a chance to show what he is capable of.
2 things to say.
1) Even if Chambers is dropped to the bench, lets remember he is only 19 years old. He has age on his side. He is pretty good for his age, but he can always learn and grow to be a better player.
2) can everyone ever be fit in Arsenal at the same time? So I believe Chambers will play regularly… 😀
if the manager improves tactically, i think he can play as a DM or Coquilin
“If the manager improves tactically”, u said.
Do u mean to say the manager is tactically not in form?
Ok…
Arsenal will never have a
fully fit squad. Koz has an
achilles injury which will
plague him all season and Mertz is
slow, out of form and not focussed.
Debuchy can’t play every game and Bellerin
is not ready so Chambers will play a lot of football this season.
Worry when their not fit never worry when their all fit, As if.
with a dm/cb coming in January, chambers will most likely be shifted to back up whatever position is needed~
chambers is a very calm and technically gifted defender, but his main problem is maturity. during the games he played, he will have one or 2 moments whereby he will make a mis-timed tackle that will put the whole defence in danger. I am not saying he dont have what it takes, its just that i dont think he is ready to displace any of the starting members.
Judging by the fact that many arsenal players suchs as walcott are slowly eased back into the squad… unlike past seasons… perhaps injuries will be slowly reduced.
this season only injuries that is due to overplaying is perhaps kos, the rest are somewhat not preventable (i didnt count diaby in :P)
the future is bright ppl!!!
up that arse!!!
Chambers would make a great DM, would love to see him worked into that position when Wenger goes, not much chance of all the players playing in their best positions with Wenger there.
Le coque should be given play time in midfield..rate him higher than both ramsey and wilshire and campbell makes us tick when hez on the pitch
firstly i doubt if arsenal will have every player fit at same time with our injury record its totally impossible! Secondly if we get in a position where we have first choice back 4 all available then i think chambers would get a few games in the dm position think had it not been for the injuries he would have already played a few games in that position by now think wenger is very keen to get him in there to see how he does!
I think chambers would make an ideal cdm, he is tall, strong, reasonably fast, good passer, reads the game well and has unleashed a few long range shots on goal so far this season… once we get some proper defensive cover i would like to see him used there…
I agree with u mate. He reads the game much better than the other experienced counterparts. Once our back 4 r settled, I can see him fitting well in DM position along with Wilshere. Frankly I don’t see Ramsey as a starter for all games. He’ll have his moments but not a legend stuff definitely.
while for parts of the game he does make good judgement, he does make a couple of mistake in every single game. flamini on the other hand, switched off for that one or two moments in the game and got heavily punished for it. chambers is not the current solution but one for the long term 😀
Why would Manolas move to Arsenal when he has just moved to Roma? I would prefer to play Chambers at DM . He is strong, tireless, tough tackler and will be able to protect our porous back. If I were the coach I would rotate him with Martesacker but I know Wenger is too rigid to do that!
I think yesterday’s move by the club to finally officially promote bellerin and hayden (and akpom) is a clear answer to the we only have 6 defenders jibes aimed at the manager.
My personal feeling is wenger will however sign a centre back in january, he will try his hardest to find a left sided one to add balance to his options which are currently 6-2 in favour of the right footers. If he goes for Laporte which I think he will then he will be adding another player who does not affect the 25 man squad as he is only 20. This would mean he could still add a cdm and only have to make changes to his champions league squad not his epl squad.
He is really good . He can play many positions in the pitch that is very special of him. There is no worry for his playing chance in the team. He is really a prized asset we have.