Arsenal: Hopefully Unai Emery can see past Calum Chamber’s goal

When Calum Chambers fired home a goal against Chelsea, Arsenal fans finally paid attention, but hopefully Unai Emery can see past that.

Calum Chambers was one of the main things I was looking forward to as last season wound to a close. Combining with Konstantinos Mavropanos, he looked to be the future anchor of this defense, with Rob Holding obviously fitting into the picture as well. Arsenal were in good, young hands.

And when Chambers extended his contract and Unai Emery committed to the “key” role that the Englishman was going to have this season, I felt even more assured.

Then he was loaned away to Fulham and I was left scratching my head. It appeared as though he wouldn’t have that key role in the team after all, but would rather be in yet another relegation battle, like the one he was in with Boro when he, yet again, proved how worthy he was of Premier League play.

Chambers fired home a goal against Chelsea in the West London Derby, and while it ended up being a loss for the Fulham, the goal was not lost on Arsenal fans, who immediately remembered that Chambers even existed.

It was a smashing goal, no doubt, and it wasn’t even his first with his loan side. He has been suiting up as a defensive midfielder, a role that he originally played at Southampton (while also playing rightback and centerback with the Saints), and he has been doing a tremendous job at it, averaging five ball-winning plays per match, which would top the charts at Arsenal, if he could replicate those stats back home.

The hype for Chambers to return has nothing to do with the goal he scored against Chelsea, no matter how great the effort was. The hype has to do with the fact that he has a clear path to success at Arsenal with his versatility, his ball-winning ability, and the fact that he is still only 24.

I would hope that Emery can see past this hype as an anomaly caused by the goal and understand that Chambers has been a valuable asset to Fulham this year. And oh, by the way, don’t we always need more versatile defenders? Answer: Yes we do.

I don’t know what else Chambers can do to prove that he belongs in the Premier League with a club like Arsenal. But clearly Emery sees some kind of value in him, so hopefully that will translate to opportunity.