Arsenal: Calum Chambers can replay Rob Holding breakthrough

Arsenal has a wealth of defensive options and they are only going to get better with Calum Chambers starting to fire on all cylinders.

Few headlines captured the 2016/17 season for Arsenal quite like Rob Holding being a bonafide attack-crushing masterclass capable of shutting down Premier League strikers of every type.

The £2m man wasn’t expected to have such a big impact on the season, but when it came down to the crunch time at the end of the season, he was there and he was massive.

Breakouts like that are exciting (obviously) and they give us more reason to be jazzed up about other potential breakout candidates. In terms of this defense, we won’t have to look far for that, because Calum Chambers is coming back more determined than ever to make an impact.

The Englishman cost a significant amount more than his EPL-ready (and younger) countryman, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have the impact to match his price tag. Chambers was huge for Middlesbrough this past season, becoming an unsung defensive hero in their unfortunate solo year in the Prem.

And now, with the England U21, Chambers is making it clear that leaving North London is not on his mind. Here’s what he had to say to Sky Sports:

"This season has been so important for me, playing games as a centre-back. The experience I have gained in that position just from playing is so valuable to me. I just feel it’s just pushed me on another level. I want to have a good tournament anyway and I’m focusing on here. If I have a good tournament it’s great and I’ll be going back to Arsenal for pre-season and doing the best I can and seeing what happens"

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He went on:

"It’s been a very good season for me. I gave absolutely everything to try to get results and keep Middlesbrough in the Premier League. Unfortunately I couldn’t do that and I was gutted. We have to see what happens. I’m an Arsenal player and I’ll be going back in for pre-season and concentrating on that but at the moment my focus is on England and beating Germany."

There are a couple things I’d like to draw attention to there. First of all, the fact that he is gutted from Boro being relegated means he will be more inspired than ever to get back out on the pitch and make an impact as soon as possible. Meaning that Holding needs to watch himself, because Chambers could come out of preseason on top.

Then there is then matter of Chambers completely dismissing all transfer talk, speaking instead about how focused he was on getting back into the preseason at the Emirates and proving his worth.

Next: Arsenal's 30 Best Transfers Of Past 30 Years

There may be something brewing here with this young Englishman. You know Wenger will be ready to give him a chance and we are being made aware that Chambers will be there to take it.

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