The January transfer window will be a regretful period for Arsenal in 2022. With the top four chase rapidly slipping away from the Gunners, the failure to reinforce the squad in the winter is looked at as one of the primary reasons for the season’s disappointment.
Arsenal allowed plenty of players to leave. However, after losing Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu to injury along with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah’s failure to score goals, the squad looks very weak.
The total number of departures came to five with Pablo Mari, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sead Kolasinac, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Calum Chambers leaving either permanently or on loan. However, one player’s absence, in particular, has hurt the side despite very few highlighting it.
READ MORE: The big Mikel Arteta decision that cost Arsenal at Southampton and the role Nuno Tavares played
The player in question therefore cannot be Aubameyang considering the striker’s form for Barcelona has sparked nothing but debate over the decision to allow him to leave. No, the player relates to the lack of depth to cover both the aforementioned Tomiyasu and Tierney.
That player is Calum Chambers. The England defender departed for Aston Villa in a shock move that caught everyone napping. Similar to the loan arrival of Mat Ryan a year earlier, there had been little-to-no mention of an imminent departure and the deal was announced without any build-up.
Subsequently, Cedric Soares has covered for the injured Tomiyasu. Tierney’s role then changed to allow the Portuguese full-back to become the more offensive-minded of the two.
If you’re wondering what this is about, Mikel Arteta has given his full-backs different roles this season. Tomiyasu provided the more disciplined approach whilst Tierney attacked more frequently.
When the Japanese international was out, Tierney was the more obvious choice to deputise. However, when the Scot befell to his own injury, Nuno Tavares, like Cedric, was also a more offensive focused full-back.
This created a problem that Crystal Palace exploited and the Arsenal left-back was exposed in the 3-0 defeat. Arteta then tried Granit Xhaka at left-back, but this left Albert Sambi Lokonga vulnerable in the middle and Brighton carved open the Gunners twice in their few opportunities and were clinical in their finishing.
Chambers is the only full-back that is stylistically similar to Tomiyasu. He may not be as good as his former teammate but with Tierney out, Chambers would have made the better partner for Tavares in Arteta’s established system.
Aston Villa managed to acquire him for little-to-no fee considering he had just six months left on his deal. It is a move that benefitted Arsenal only in terms of saved wages, however, the impact competitively without Chambers as an option could have arguably cost Arteta and Arsenal more.
Yet he is a player rarely discussed and already forgotten. But remains a player who could have contributed with the benefit of hindsight. It was a move that made little sense then and makes even less sense now. Another lesson to learn from.
