Arsenal: Calum Chambers deserves his shot, though he might miss

Calum Chambers was excellent in Arsenal’s Europa League loss to Atletico Madrid. The young defender deserves his shot to start next season, though he might miss.

There weren’t many positives to be drawn from Thursday night’s 2-1 aggregate loss to Atletico Madrid in the semi-final of the Europa League. At this point in the season, the only importance is the result, and in this case, it did not end well for the Gunners. But that does not mean that there weren’t good eventualities from Arsenal’s performance, and there was one individual in particular who was especially impressive.

Check out the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here

Calum Chambers was introduced cold. On the bench, unlikely to be introduced until late into the second half given his position, he could have very easily be caught unprepared when he was called upon after just 12 minutes once Laurent Koscielny blew out his Achilles.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

It was hardly an easy game to be thrust into. Firstly, he was playing on the left-side of the two centre-halves, the far less comfortable role of the two for a strongly right-footed player. He was also up against two of the best, most ruthless, sharpest counter-attacking attackers in world football in the form of Diego Costa and Antoine Griezmann. If there was ever a scenario in which Chambers would be embarrassed, this was it.

But he wasn’t at all. Now, were there some uncertain moments in which he looked a little panicked or out of position? Absolutely. But then he was playing against one of the best pair-of-strikers in the world when his team was chasing the game. That is not exactly surprising. And this is not an anomaly. Increasingly so, Chambers has put in several solid defensive displays during the latter months of this campaign.

And that raises a question moving forwards. With Koscielny seemingly unable to deal with the physical challenges of weekly first-team football and Shkodran Mustafi hardly a convincing figure at the heart of the defence, most have assumed that there is a need at centre-half to invest in this summer’s transfer window.

Perhaps, however, Arsenal would be better-served by thrusting Chambers into the line-up and trusting their development of a player that has now been with the club for four years, with one loan season thrown into the mix. He is now 23 years of age. His time has come for regular, established starts. And that comes next season.

Now, even if offered such an opportunity, will Chambers be able to take advantage of it? I’m not so sure. He certainly has all the tools to be an excellent central defender, but like Mustafi and even Koscielny to an extent, his mental errors in his positioning, his decision-making and his lapses in concentration leave a little to be desired, especially in regards to his consistency from week to week.

Next: Arsenal: 3 players who held their own against Atletico

Nevertheless, Chambers deserves his shot. He has earned that much. He might miss, but Arsenal should give him the chance. It might just pay off.