‘He has looked really good’: Arteta confirms 26-year-old will not leave Arsenal this month

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Calum Chambers will not leave the club on loan this month.

The 26-year-old Englishman has had a torrid time with injuries since Arteta took charge of the club. He returned to first-team action at the start of December and has started just one game all season.

Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari and David Luiz are all ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment. That brought out speculation surrounding Chambers’ immediate future at the club, but Arteta has ruled out any kind of departure this month.

He told BT Sport: “I don’t think that is going to happen (Chambers leaving on loan this month). I am really happy with Calum. He has gone through a really difficult period. He has worked so hard.”

“He has looked really good in the last few weeks in training. He is not even thinking about his knee right now. We want to give him minutes when we can because he is a player that we believe in.”

Arteta is right, Chambers should stay

Arsenal aren’t short of central defenders at the moment but Chambers is more than just a centre-half. He can play at right-back and also in defensive midfield.

He will give Arteta a number of options when he is fully fit, and the Arsenal boss needs that. We are heading into the business end of the season where every result matters.

A finish in one of the Champions League places is still the aim, but that isn’t realistic at the moment. Arsenal’s best chance of getting into Europe’s elite competition next season is by winning the Europa League.

We are definitely one of the favourites to win that competition and we will need all the help we can get to achieve that. Chambers’ versatility will be extremely important then and Arteta is right to block any move this month.