Arsenal: Calum Chambers assertions aren’t going unnoticed

Arsenal’s defense is going to be under the microscope until someone expensive is bought to fix it, but are Calum Chambers assertions hitting home?

Something about this Arsenal team makes clean sheets look like a pipe dream. Ask Petr Cech, who I think has been stuck on 199 clean sheets since what, December 2016? They just always find a way to switch off and bumble it up.

As such, we are always watching that back line with a skeptical eye. Every single mistake is met with groans, maybe a few fine pieces of China tossed against walls, maybe some headbutting of refrigerators, who knows. I don’t know how everyone else anti-celebrates defensive mistakes.

But I know how I celebrate defensive solidity. I do so very quietly, so as not to upset their focus, until the final whistle blows. Because if I celebrate too soon, something terrible might happen, like a horrid slide tackle in our box with the clean sheet in hand.

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Beating around the bush aside, Calum Chambers was superb against Ostersunds FK and, quite frankly, I’m getting to the point where it’s not even worth celebrating anymore because every time he goes out there, he seems to get better and steadier and more consistent.

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He had one and a half mistakes, let’s just get that out there. One was a miscommunication with Hector Bellerin, the other was a rushed pass.

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Outside of those mistakes, he was yet again a sterling silver defending demigod when it came to shutting down one-on-one situations. It reminded me of his emergency appearance in 2016 when he shut down both Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy in a handful of one-on-ones. He was an absolute stonewall.

With the defense in the flimsy state that it is, every little added bit of solidity is beyond welcome, and Chambers’ sporadic, yet always strong outings are not going unnoticed. How can I tell? Because every time rotation is in order, he is called up. Not Rob Holding or Per Mertesacker. Not even Sead Kolasinac.

It’s always Chambers. And that’s how it should be because of all those people listed, Chambers is the best central defender and Arsene Wenger is noticing.

Which makes me happy, because I really do think that this young man can still live up to the massive potential he had when we first bought him. He has the makings of another Shkodran Mustafi with less pace, but he’s figuring out how to make that work. And, as of right now, it’s going quite well.

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That said, it’s still not well enough to avoid defensive pursuits this summer. This club really needs a reactive defender rather than so many proactive ones and for as highly as I think of Chambers, I see him as the heir to Laurent Koscielny, who is likely fading out of the picture.