Calum Chambers is coming off of a terrific week. The Arsenal man scored a match-levelling goal against Aston Villa before bagging three assists versus Nottingham Forest. While Chambers may not become first-choice at any position this season, he has shown that he has a surprising amount of value to his squad.
The Value of Calum Chambers
Realities of Football
In every season, every club has to deal with absentees, whether they come from injury, suspension or from other avenues. They also have to rotate players to keep the regular starters fresh and able to compete at the highest level.
This means that now, more than ever before, clubs are reliant on squad depth to grind out results over the course of a long season. Should a team lack said depth, they are exposed time and again.
This means that having a few trusted players who do not regularly start is crucial for a club. Whether they step in for a league clash against a rival or are simply rotated in for a cup match against lower league opposition, these players have an important role to play.
They become even more valuable when they can competently play multiple positions, sometimes referred to as utility players.
Arsenal’s Swiss Army Knife
The versatility of players used in such a role is sometimes misconstrued as a lack of genuine quality and derided. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one such example.
During his time at Arsenal, club legend Thierry Henry said that he didn’t know what the player’s best position was, suggesting that this was an issue. True, he never looked a natural fit on the wing, at wing-back, at fullback or in the centre of the park, but he could play any of those positions to an extent.
The pundits took this as a reason to underestimate the player’s value. Fast-forward to today and the £35 million it took to take the player to Liverpool seems fair value as he is one of a few players who make the Reds’ midfield so dangerous.
We see now that Arsenal were simply taking advantage of a player’s versatility and not that Oxlade-Chamberlain lacked quality. Calum Chambers is another example of a utility player, at least a footballer who is being used as such.
The former Southampton man spent last season on loan with Fulham. He played as a defensive midfielder and won the club’s player of the season award. Now, he has been used as a centre-back and fullback by Unai Emery and is perhaps getting even better results.
Without Chambers’ equalising goal, Arsenal may have only drawn against Villa. He wasn’t named in the starting XI yet had a huge impact on the result.
Against Forest, Calum Chambers was easily the man of the match. Not only did his three assists spark the victory but he also stood tall in defence, intercepting the ball five times. In both cases, Chambers was vital to the result.
Surprising Value
Calum Chambers won’t play right-back once Hector Bellerin is fully fit. He also won’t supplant the likes of Matteo Guendouzi or Lucas Torreria in midfield. Even Rob Holding and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are likely destined to keep the player out of the starting XI.
However, that doesn’t define the value of Calum Chambers. He, and players like him, are vital to the success, or lack thereof, of their club and can pop up at important moments in important matches to snatch victory from the jaw of defeat or help dominate lesser opponents.
Either way, Calum Chambers has quite a lot of value to this Arsenal team, even if it’s not as a starter.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
