Arsenal: Calum Chambers needs opportunity

Calum Chambers was named Fulham’s Player of the Season this weekend. When he returns to Arsenal next season, he needs opportunities if he is to thrive.

When it came to the development and use of young, burgeoning players, the remit for Unai Emery was always clear: to master the process. Ivan Gazidis did not shy away from that fact in his introductory press conference. He even said that part of the reason for hiring Emery was that the former Paris Saint-Germain head coach was committed to the young talent that was already at the club.

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As Arsenal look to ‘outsmart the market’, as head of football Raul Sanllehi put it this way, one way to do that will be to fill out the team, both the squad and the starting XI, with players that have developed from the academy or been bought at a young age and coached up in house.

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One potential option who could look to make waves in the squad next season is Calum Chambers. The now 24-year-old will return from a year-long loan at Fulham, where he was named the Whites’ Player of the Season this weekend. At Craven Cottage, Chambers was initially tried at centre-half, then moved to right-back, and eventually settled in central midfield, which is where Arsene Wenger had often envisaged him playing when he first arrived in north London.

When he returns to the Emirates, the position he plays will be of great importance. There are many other young centre-backs vying for first-team opportunities. That is why Chambers was sent out on loan in the first place. There may be a better chance for him to gain first-team minutes in midfield, especially if Mohamed Elneny is sold as expected and Granit Xhaka continues to fail to take a step forward.

Wherever Chambers chooses to fight for his place, one thing that he desperately needs is opportunity. Now at 24, he should be playing regular football on a weekly basis. If Emery cannot give him that at Arsenal, it may be time to sell and cash in on the best season of his career. Given his Premier League experience and English nationality, Chambers could fetch as much as £20 million.

But if Emery does believe that Chambers can still be useful to his team, he should stick with the Southampton graduate. He does have a degree of talent: a rare blend of physical prowess, deceptive speed, and terrific composure on the ball for a defender that, if tapped into, could yet comprise a good Premier League player. For that potential to be realised, however, Chambers need to be playing.

This is the crux of the issue. There is no point in keeping Chambers, letting him rot in the reserves, and then selling him for half the price a year or two later. It serves absolutely no one. This is the summer that Emery must decide whether he is actually going to use Chambers or not.

There are sound arguments to say that he should be kept; there are equally sound arguments for his sale. But whatever Emery chooses to do, he must commit to it. Half-heartedly keeping Chambers is pointless. He — and Arsenal by extension — needs opportunity.