Calum Chambers expected to sign contract extension

Calum Chambers is expected to sign a 4-year extension to keep him at Arsenal through 2022 according to David Ornstein of BBC Sports. Chambers signed a two-year extension in October of last year but had recently been linked with a move to newly-promoted Fulham. Reportedly, Unai Emery thinks that Chambers has great potential and would like to see the 23-year old compete for a starting place next season.

Chambers made 29 appearances for the club in 2014-15, his first season at the Emirates. In the three seasons since (one of which was spent on loan at Middlesbrough), he has 30 combined. His case has always seemed a bit odd - why bring in a promising young centerback who was playing semi-regularly at Southampton to staple him to the bench?

The times when he did get a run of games, he acquitted himself relatively well, including a good run of form to close out this past season. Still, he didn’t get enough time to where we could be sure of what we had in him - an every week starter or a 4th-choice centerback better suited to a mid- or bottom-table club.

It seems that Unai Emery thinks Chambers may be the former and is prepared to give him a chance to prove it. Emery reportedly has a similar view on Rob Holding - he wants to see how the young Englishman performs in preseason before making any decisions on his place (and future) at the club.

With this news, it appears the Arsenal defense is more or less set for next season. Héctor Bellerín and Stephan Lichtsteiner at right back, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolašinac at left back, and Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Rob Holding, Laurent Koscielny (when he returns from injury), and Sokratis Papastathopoulos (expected to be announced soon) at centerback.