Would a loan move save the career of this talented Arsenal youngster?

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Journalist and French football expert Matt Spiro shared a revealing conversation on Twitter that he had with former Arsenal defender Sebastien Squillaci. An object of much ridicule during his time in England, Squillaci admitted that he struggled to adapt to the helter-skelter tempo of the Premier League but made a valid defence of his career record. Squillaci won trophies with Sevilla and Monaco, played in a Champions League final, in a World Cup and earned 21 caps for France. Only at Arsenal was he a failure. A coincidence? Squillaci thought not, claiming that centre-halves at Arsenal face a difficult task given Arsene Wenger’s preference for front-foot football that can leave defenders exposed and experienced internationals to look quite average.

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Whether one considers this a fair assessment or not, it highlights the cautious stance Arsene Wenger has taken in regards to Calum Chambers, who may have been reported missing were it not for his Instagram posts. Chambers started just two Premier League games last term; a season in which Arsene Wenger experimented at centre-half, as he vacillated between Gabriel and Per Mertesacker towards the end of the season. One of those starts was as a defensive midfielder, at home to Bournemouth over the Christmas, where Chambers had a very competent game, albeit in a comfortable scenario.  Yet that display was not enough to convince Wenger to pursue it any further, preferring to muddle through with the dysfunctional midfield axis of Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey throughout January.

Arsene Wenger has had his fingers burnt in the past by throwing in promising young defenders before they were ready. Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos being two examples of defenders who were highly regarded by the club but who, when put into a sink or swim situation, struggled to stay afloat. Incidentally, Chambers was thrust straight into the spotlight at the beginning of 2014-15, starting at centre-back in Arsenal’s first four games of the season which included trips to Besiktas and Everton. Calm and composed, his performances caused a great deal of excitement and even earned him senior England recognition.

A slight turning point came when Arsenal travelled to Swansea in November 2014 and Chambers was given something of a chasing by Jefferson Montero as Arsenal lost 2-1 in south Wales. In the long-term, that torrid afternoon might be to Chambers’ benefit because it convinced both the player and his manager his future lay in the centre of the pitch. There was a danger that Chambers may have followed the same path as Phil Jones, getting by in a variety of roles without convincing in any one berth.

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That afternoon showed that Chambers did not possess the agility to play as a full-back, at least in a team such as Arsenal where defenders are expected to cope in one on one situations. Arsenal’s best periods of defending in recent years have come with Mertesacker and Laurent Koscienly as their first choice centre-back pairing; a reliable combination of one fast, aggressive, man-marker with one zonal, more positional defender.

Calum Chambers is closer to the latter type and he ought to be aiming to become Mertesacker’s successor. Gabriel is much closer to Laurent Koscienly in terms of style of defending and the two have not convinced as a partnership. Typically, the best centre back partnerships cover a wide base of attributes with each defender covering the weaknesses of the other; Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic or John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho for instance.

His early appearances in an Arsenal shirt displayed some of the qualities needed to make this step. Some suggest that he lacks requisite toughness; he does look more like a sunglasses model than a rugged centre back and this probably counts against him. It is also a common theme in graduates of Southampton’s academy; Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Gareth Bale. All well-mannered and well-groomed; Graeme Souness might call a ‘group of son-in-laws’. They are all ‘too nice’ in the eyes of many. Of course, it hardly held Bale back and its nonsense to suggest that you have to be a raging psychopath to make it as a top class defender, but these things do affect the public’s perceptions of certain players.

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Two incidents this season however, suggest that Chambers does possess a reserve of mental resilience. He had an error-strewn first half performance against Liverpool at the Emirates last August, his only Premier League start of the season as a centre back, to such a degree that many expected him to be substituted at half-time (just as Kieran Gibbs was in 2009’s Champions League Semi-Final against Manchester United). Chambers remained on the pitch however, and improved markedly in the second period to contribute to an Arsenal clean sheet. Moreover, when Arsenal lost Koscienly to injury at home to Leicester City, Chambers excelled in a highly pressurised game up against Jamie Vardy; exactly the profile of striker you might expect to cause Chambers a problem.

Mathieu Debuchy forcing his way out of the club in January meant that Chambers had to stick around in order to fulfil a dual purpose as back up at right back and fourth choice centre-half, when a period of regular football on loan may have been more beneficial. One way or another, Chambers has to get himself Premier League minutes as a centre back, be it at Arsenal or through a temporary spell elsewhere.

Featured Image – All Rights Reserved by Emrah Partal