Reckon I had too much alcohol in my system after a bank holiday weekend of boozing, because I’ve woken up this morning feeling the cold sweats of lady liquor, which is never the best way to start your working week. At least the weather isn’t hindering my ability to wake up – it’s blustery as anything in West London this morning.
The Arsenal universe is hardly hotting up either at this point too. It has a real ‘calm before the storm’ feel about it to me, which you can kind of tell when the only Arsenal-related stuff that pops up on my Twitter timeline is about Olivier Giroud being booed by his own fans ahead of a friendly with Cameroon. If that constitutes latest and breaking news worthy of an article in its own right, you know there’s not much going on.
Personally I think that’s a little harsh. Being booed just for representing your country, getting stick because you’re not some other player (Benzema), but I guess he’s probably used to a bit of stick these days. He’s become a bit of a lightning rod for criticism at both club and country level.
It’s not his fault that he isn’t the world class forward we’ve all wanted him to be. It’s not his fault that he has limitations as our first choice striker. Likewise it has to be said at a national level; it’s not his fault that Benzema has ‘allegedly’ been messing around with a business of blackmail on the side of his main job of being a multi-million pound footballer.
I – like many of you I’m sure – hope that he has a really good Euro’s. He’s not what we want as our main man up top, but his value as a squad player would be obvious. He can score goals, he can contribute and he would be a very good back up to a top-level centre forward. But he’s a confidence player and so any kind of under performance this summer will only be a bad thing for Arsenal.
Thankfully, he scored against Cameroon, so hopefully that will boost his confidence.
Calum Chambers is the only other Arsenal player who is making a few headlines right now too, as the rumours flying around are that he’s off on loan somewhere. I really rate Chambers and I think he should be given an opportunity to prove how good he is, so I can understand a loan move, as opposed to a permanent transfer. He’s young enough that a season of first team football could be massive for his career, and if Arsenal cannot offer him that, then it makes sense for him to go somewhere to get it. The real question that would remain unanswered, however, is what we would do as a replacement? Arsène would surely have to bring somebody else in, but would that be another squad player, as he persists with a Gabriel/Koscielny partnership? Or would it be a big-money signing to replace Gabriel and push him and Big Per in to third and fourth place, respectively?
If it is a big-name signing, then does Chambers even have a future at Arsenal? Because much like Xhaka hasn’t been signed as a squad player, spending £20-£25million on a centre half, would hardly be the kind of cash Arsène would spend for a one-season player whilst Chambers gets game time.
I think whatever happens in the coming months could determine Chambers’ Arsenal career, and I just hope it is an opportunity he gets presented that will make him an Arsenal regular, rather than the death knell on his Arsenal career.
We shall see. For now though, we’re playing the waiting game until the Euro’s start. Catch you tomorrow.
Chambers was given a lot of opportunities and he did not justify the money that was spent for him. A true top class player does not need so many opportunities to prove his talent and establish himself. And do not forget that he plays for Arsenal, not for a village club which has the luxury to experiment with players.