Arsenal: What does the return of Calum Chambers mean?

From the latest bout of VAR controversy to the recurrence of rage-inducing individual errors, plenty of drama was generated during at Arsenal during their Premier League trip to Burnley. And while much of the post-match conversation focused on the repercussions dropping points will have on our season, one talking point that slipped under the radar was the surprising, but welcome return of Calum Chambers.

Starting each of the three games prior to Mikel Arteta’s appointment in December 2019, Calum Chambers was just beginning to establish himself at the club when he suffered his unfortunate ACL injury in a London derby against Chelsea – only the Spaniard’s second game at the helm. The subsequent injury lay-off has therefore afforded him little opportunity to showcase his ability.

Since then, the former Southampton man has completed a long and arduous road to recovery and has spent much of the last few months regaining his match fitness, making a couple of appearances for the Under-23 side in Premier League 2, while his senior appearances have been limited to cameos in the Europa League against Rapid Vienna and Dundalk respectively.

Considering this meagre amount of playing time, some fans would have been understandably concerned about his selection for Saturday’s high-stakes encounter at Turf Moor. However, Chambers displayed few signs of rustiness and held his own on the right, providing frequent support for Bukayo Saka in attacking areas and dealing effectively with the threat posed by Dwight McNeil.

Chambers’ return to the fold in Lancashire was his first start of the league season and made him Arsenal’s third different selection at right-back in as many games, with Hector Bellerin’s regular occupancy of the role including our dramatic European win against Benfica a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, Cedric has frequently deputised for Kieran Tierney on the opposite side and earned his most recent appearance during the comprehensive victory at Leicester.

Although these changes are likely to have been a consequence of the need to rest players – protecting them from suffering fatigue-related injuries – each player has made an impression when called upon and it will be interesting to see who Arteta opts for going forward, particularly with crunch games coming up this week.

Defensive injuries are among the many issues that have contributed to this campaign’s struggles, and so perhaps Arteta will revel in the tactical flexibility he currently has at his disposal.

However, every game over the coming weeks is a final for Arsenal and it is imperative that the right figures are picked from this bloated squad each time. Should Chambers be one of them?