Arsenal: Calum Chambers has taken his threat somewhere else

Arsenal are witnessing the supreme growth of Calum Chambers, but as central defense is a bit cluttered, he took his threat elsewhere.

I was legitimately pissed when Calum Chambers got hurt and had to be subbed off against AC Milan. He had been one of Arsenal’s best performers at a position that isn’t even his best position. Granted, he still had two questionable moments, but just two in a high-caliber match like that, with neither proving to be that bad? I’ll take it.

Thankfully, it appeared to be cramps and little more, so hopefully he will be back soon, because for as good as Mohamed Elneny deputized at the role, I lack faith in that being a long-term solution should Hector Bellerin and Chambers both miss out on time.

That said, Chambers is only getting better and better. He gets his one free pass against Ostersunds in the second leg, because aside from that, he has been nothing if not fantastic.

The problem has been that, despite how good he has been, he has had Laurent Koscielny, the captain, and Shkodran Mustafi, the wildcard, high-priced, German international, blocking his way in his natural position of center back.

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So, in the wake of Bellerin’s injury, Chambers has been thrown in at right back, where he initially played on his arrival at the club.

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Not many were enthused by the idea of a clear centerback playing a wide role, myself included, but despite the doubts, Chambers has now had two matches on the fly where he has played the role near perfectly.

The best part about it is that his lack of pace isn’t much of an effect. Against AC Milan, that was largely thanks to an expressive, energetic midfield that was ready to cover for him. But it was also thanks to Chambers own intuition as a defender. He may well be our smartest defender, as you just can’t shake the guy with fancy tricks and step-overs. He doesn’t fall for it.

You’d think that, when he gets forward, he may get caught out a bit, but again, using AC Milan as an example, he didn’t. He was smart with the ball, didn’t take unnecessary risks and, dare I say, he did more with the attacking side of the game than Bellerin.

Which is why I’m going to do something here that, as I type, I am questioning. I am going to ask whether or not Chambers isn’t better off at rightback than Bellerin. At least for the time being.

Here’s the thing, Bellerin has been subpar all year. You can’t possibly deny that. We have been barking for some sort of competition or threat to his position, but no one at the club seemed capable.

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Chambers is capable. Let him hold the role until Bellerin takes it back. It’s only fair, no?