Arsenal: ‘Fighting’ Calum Chambers doing all you can ask for

Arsenal’s Calum Chambers has stated that he is willing to fight for a starting spot. So far this season, he has done everything that you could ask of him.

When Unai Emery arrived at Arsenal as Arsene Wenger’s successor, Calum Chambers was a starting centre-back. Laurent Koscielny was injured, Chambers had beaten out Rob Holding in the pecking order, and Shkodran Mustafi was the other starting option. That, however, very quickly changed.

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Emery immediately moved Holding above Chambers in the centre-back standings. He signed Sokratis, an experienced defender who would immediately start. He then loaned out Chambers to Fulham, a clear indication that the Southampton graduate would not be a key part of his plans.

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Upon his return from a productive and promising loan spell in which he was named Fulham’s Player of the Season, Chambers knew he had a fight on his hands to win a starting job:

"“I think to establish yourself here, you need to play week in, week out. It’s the same at every club you go to. When you’re playing week in, week out that’s when you really establish yourself to the team and the fans. That’s a goal I want to push for, it’s one of my aims, so I’ve got to figure out how I can do that. I need to work on things off the pitch to help me achieve that, that’s the aim for this season. I feel good, I’ve had a good summer, preseason’s gone well and I’ve settled back in nicely with the lads and the new manager. I’m ready for this season ahead, I’m ready to fight and ready to give everything to this team. I’m excited for the season ahead and what we can achieve.”"

But it was win against a weakened opponent. Holding would be rehabbing from a torn ACL, not fit to start the season. Koscielny had departed, Konstantinos Mavropanos was coming off an underwhelming, injury-hit year, while David Luiz was the only immediate recruitment, hardly the most convincing of signings. The door was ajar for Chambers.

The season is still young. Drawing reasonable conclusions from the handful of games that have been played thus far is extremely naive. The sample size is too small. But Chambers has made an excellent beginning to his resurrecting quest. In fact, in his fight for a starting spot, he is doing all that could be asked of him.

Chambers was a solid performer in the season-opener against Newcastle United, his only appearance at centre-back this year. He was harshly dropped the next week but has since appeared in the last three matches, making two starts, all coming at right-back. He struggled against Eintracht Frankfurt, though recovered with a gritty final half-hour as the Gunners defended their lead, before finding confidence out of position with two excellent performances against Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

In his last 135 minutes, 15 of those even coming at left-back, a sign of his positional versatility and excellent understanding, he has one goal and three assists. More importantly, his calmness on the ball is exemplary, especially when playing against the high press, while his defending has improved, although he still has issues when exposed against agile, quick-paced wingers.

Chambers may not have worked his way back up the pecking order to the place he was prior to Emery’s arrival, but he is doing everything he can to resurrect his career. And at present, it is working.