Calum Chambers hasn’t been seen much in the first team since the emergence of Hector Bellerin.
The youngster, who was thrust into the side after Mathieu Debuchy’s first injury, has already seen himself shunted around the pitch in three postions, but while he enjoys some time to recover from his fast Arsenal start, he has been speaking to the Sun [£] about where he hopes to end up playing permanently.
“We went to Austria during pre-season and had a training session,” he said.
“The manager told me, ‘You’re going to be training as a centre-half here because you may have an opportunity to play there at the start of the season’.
“So I trained centre-half a few times and it went from there. I made my debut in the Community Shield at Wembley and started a lot of games, Premier League and Champions League, in that position.”
Although Chambers has played right-back and as a holding midfielder this season, too, he wants to nail a central defence slot for Arsenal and England.
“I don’t want to be known as a utility player who just slots in here, there and everywhere as I want my own secured position. But it’s good for me because it’s giving me more opportunities to get game time under my belt.
“Long-term, I think I’ll end up as a central defender. It’s my favourite position.”
Moving from Southampton for £16m, the defender revealed that it was former Saints man, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who helped him settle in when he arrived at the club.
“The most nerve-racking time was when I joined. There were a lot of big names in the dressing room.
“I wasn’t starstruck. I was excited but nervous as I wanted to give a good impression. I wanted to come across not only as someone who belonged there but who was proud to be an Arsenal player.
“Alex helped a lot. He introduced me to everyone and showed me the ropes. The manager has been so helpful and I can’t thank him enough for showing faith in me.”
And if Arsenal ever find themselves needing a goalkeeper because one of our regulars has done something stupid, then Calum is just the man you want to have in your side
“During my time at Southampton, coming through the ranks, I played every position. I even faced Chelsea for the Under-14s between the posts. Our goalkeeper didn’t show up because he was ill so I had to fill in.
“I pulled off quite a few saves and only conceded once — so it was not a bad start to my keeping career. But I soon realised donning the gloves was not for me.
“When I was playing at Under-7, David Beckham was my idol. I was playing on the right wing like him — and wanted to be an attacking player. I even played as a striker.”