Arsenal: Calum Chambers departure utterly inevitable

Calum Chambers is being linked with a move to Everton as they look for a Phil Jagielka successor. His departure from Arsenal, either on loan or permanently, is utterly inevitable.

The signing of Rob Holding last summer has had immediate and significant ramifications on the make-up of the Arsenal squad. Arsene Wenger has always liked to have young players in and around his first team squad, using them as depth for the more experienced, established starters, and providing them with opportunities when he can, usually in domestic cup games.

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With Holding entering the fray as the youthful project at centre-half, there was little need for the man he usurped, Calum Chambers. Given the number of games in a season, Wenger will have resigned himself to only being able to give Chambers a handful of fairly meaningless starts, stemming his development substantially.

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As such, he decided to allow the former Southampton graduate to leave on loan, finding Middlesbrough as a welcome beneficiary. Chambers proceeded to enjoy a fairly consistent, if not spectacular, season with Boro, making 24 Premier League appearances across the whole campaign. However, now at 22, Chambers is reaching the point of his career where he needs an entrenched starting role to further his development.

But as he prepares to return to Arsenal, he sees the same competition that forced him out of the club last summer still limiting his opportunities. Moreover, with Holding only confirming his status as an extremely talented defender with a bright future ahead of him, Chambers is even further behind in the pecking order.

That is why rumours are beginning to surface regarding a possible exit. The most recent of these reports suggests that Everton are interested in bringing the young defender is, seeing him as an eventual replacement for Phil Jagielka at the heart of the defence. It is a move that makes sense for all parties, either on loan or on a permanent basis if the right price can be determined, and would provide Chambers with the opportunity to receive regular playing time.

Furthermore, if Wenger did see Chambers as a genuine contributor to the fate of the first team, he wouldn’t have allowed him to leave on loan last season. Of many of Arsenal’s recent loanees – Joel Campbell, Yaya Sanogo, Serge Gnabry – none were ever given chances when they returned, even after a series of different loan spells.

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Chambers narrative in North London is suggesting one thing: a departure. The only question is whether that will be a permanent one or a temporary one.