Arsenal: Surely Calum Chambers has made his point

Calum Chambers was superb in Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Surely he has made his point to Unai Emery: He should be starting in the Premier League.

Calum Chambers returned to Arsenal after winning the Player of the Season award for Fulham. Admittedly, many of the impressive performances that led to his winning the award came in midfield, where he is unlikely to be used under Unai Emery, but it still painted a picture of an improving player ready to fight for a starting spot.

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Because of the turbulence at the centre-back position, as well as some crucial injuries, Chamber started alongside Sokratis in the season-opener against Newcastle United. He was competent and helped earn the Gunners’ only Premier League clean sheet of the season.

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But then he was dropped, David Luiz inserted after his deadline-day transfer. Some thought the decision was harsh at the time, and given Luiz and Sokratis’ performances since then, the criticisms of Emery’s selection certainly have some foundation.

And now Chambers is piling on the pressure even more. He has started two of the last three matches, was brought on at half-time in the other, has played out of position in all three, and excelled in the last 135 minutes of football he has played, scoring one goal, notching three assists (one of them was a simple ten yard pass), and looking like a modern-day full-back, a clear sign of his versatility and positional intelligence.

After Tuesday’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest, in which Chambers was superb at both right-back and left-back, plenty of fans were calling for the 24-year-old to be reinstated into the Premier League XI over either Sokratis and Luiz. Head coach Unai Emery would obviously not be drawn on that topic, but he did praise Chambers’ display:

"“He helped. He helped us in the training, in the dressing room and when you need him to play right-back, centre back, left-back like tonight, and we can use him in the midfield also. His performance is starting with his attitude and his attitude is amazing. After that is his best position, but tonight, for example, I was telling him, when he was playing left-back, be calm here, help and support Bukayo, give the ball to Dani Ceballos and he was overlapping a lot of times with Bukayo! He did one very good pass for the goal with Nelson. He didn’t listen to me!”"

The combination of improving performances from Chambers, with a growing confidence and conviction in his play, even when wildly out of position at left-back (I may be wrong here, but I am not sure he has ever played left-back before), with the error-prone displays of both Sokratis and Luiz make a very plain point: surely it is time for Chambers to be reinstated into the starting XI.

Chambers may or may not be a better player than Luiz and Sokratis, but, at this point, he cannot be much worse. And at least, if he does make high-profile, plain errors like Sokratis and Luiz have, he will learn from them and can improve as a result.

The time, then, has come: Calum Chambers should be starting for Arsenal. And his performance in Tuesday’s win over Forest made that point quite clear.