Arsenal: Calum Chambers should return to central midfield

Arsenal failed to land a powerful central midfielder this summer. While he may not be the long-term solution, Calum Chambers could possibly play an important midfield role this season.

This Arsenal team needs balance, especially in central midfield. If we are to allow Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to roam freely alongside Alexandre Lacazette, our central midfield partnership needs to be solid. It is anything but with Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka.

On one the hand, I feel sorry for the pair. Arsenal play an ignorant and an attacking brand of football. However, surely Arsene Wenger can see that his defenders are left exposed by this tactic. Nonetheless, if one of Xhaka and Ramsey were to be replaced, I imagine it would be Ramsey who would make way.

Although Xhaka has started the season poorly, he is Arsenal’s quarterback. I’m a huge admirer of Aaron Ramsey, but he should be playing further up the field and with fewer defensive responsibilities like he does for Wales.

Back to my original point. We failed to add muscle to our midfield this summer, so if we are to replace Ramsey, I would suggest Arsene Wenger return Calum Chambers to central midfield. Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny are nice players, but they are limited and have proven themselves to be inadequate against superior opposition.

Signed for an undisclosed fee from Southampton back in July 2014, Chambers had a fantastic start to his Arsenal career. Composed in possession, mobile and quick to read the game, “his mature performances defied his youthful years“. Chambers looked destined to be another fantastic Arsenal centre-half.

However, as every young player does, Chambers then had a period of inconsistency. While playing as a right-back he was infamously torn to shreds by Jefferson Montero’s quickness away at Swansea, and the emergence of Hector Bellerin then kept him out of the side.

After making 36 total appearances in his first Arsenal campaign, he only managed 22 during the 2015/16 season. However, one of those appearances was a promising midfield display in a 2-0 win against Bournemouth. Furthermore, what Arsene Wenger had to say during his post-match interview was very intriguing.

This comes down to tactics and tendencies. Chambers has more defensive instincts than any of our current central midfielders. Not only that, but he’d also bring more muscle to the side. When you lay it out like that, there really is no reason for Arsene Wenger not to revisit this idea.

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A Xhaka-Chambers midfield is also weirdly exciting. There’s aggression, composure and balance. Let Xhaka be the “aggressive, deep-lying playmaker“, and let Chambers be the enforcer.

It’s a good thing that Arsenal kept Calum Chambers this summer, because there are plenty of questions surrounding both the centre-back and the centre midfield position. He could conceivably have an important role to play at both positions.

The England international is an exciting prospect and a player to keep an eye on this season. How and where he plays could dictate future transfer windows for Arsenal. He could end up as a member of our backline, or if he’s given another chance and impresses in central midfield, that could be his long-term home.

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The club is a shambles both on and off the field. This may only be a short-term fix, but Arsene Wenger must revisit this project.

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