With Laurent Koscielny on his way out of the club, does Calum Chambers have what it takes to fill the Frenchman’s shoes?

With two weeks to go before the transfer window closes, and with the club’s focus seemingly on signing Kieran Tierney and a new winger, links to centre-back targets have been few and far between.

We’ve recommended an overlooked transfer possibility in a post earlier this week, but it seems that Arsenal manager Unai Emery may have to work with what he has for now.

William Saliba will only join up with the Arsenal squad next summer, and Koscielny’s likely departure means Chambers will likely get more game time than many supporters expected and, perhaps, hoped.

The 24-year-old is by no means a bad player. In fact, if you look at his statistics, he matches Koscielny pretty much across the board for tackles, interceptions, shots blocked and aerial duels per 90 minutes over the past two seasons.

Chambers only weakness, statistically compared to Koscielny, is that the Frenchman is far more successful at winning tackles than the former Southampton player. Even so, his figures are pretty much in line with Rob Holding and Sokratis.

Yet, putting so much faith in the Englishman will not sit easily with many fans. Against Real Madrid in a recent friendly, he didn’t perform badly, far from it, but there were mistakes made, and there are major worries about him being up to the task in big competitive games.

Remember, Chambers started last season playing as a centre-back for Fulham during his loan spell at Craven Cottage. In the four league matches he started in defence, his side conceded ten goals.

He was hauled off at half-time during the 4-2 defeat to Cardiff back in October and played the rest of the season mostly as a midfielder. The defender was rewarded with the club’s player of the season, but that says a lot more about the Cottagers’ plight than the player.

That may be a bit harsh on Chambers but the Gunners are trying to break into the top four once again this season. Are Mustafi, Sokratis, Holding, Mavropanos and Chambers really capable of the defensive solidity required to make that happen? Past evidence suggests not.

While most would have no qualms about Chambers leaping ahead of Mustafi in the pecking order, many more will be keen to see another centre-back brought in before August 8th. Will Arsenal get one? Let’s hope so.