ARSENE WENGER is adamant Calum Chambers still has a future at Arsenal, despite sending the versatile defender on a season-long loan to Middlesbrough.

Chambers moved to Teesside in the final week of last month’s transfer window, having failed to live up to his billing in the two years since he joined Arsenal in a £16m move from Southampton.

The 21-year-old, who was restricted to just 22 senior appearances for the Gunners last season, was an unused substitute as Middlesbrough lost to Crystal Palace last weekend, but with Aitor Karanka’s side having looked defensively insecure on a number of occasions against the Eagles, he could find himself handed a first Boro start in Saturday’s game at Everton.

Wenger is hoping he becomes a first-team regular with Boro, although Karanka has been at pains to stress that the Arsenal boss has received no guarantees about the level of Chambers’ involvement this season.

Nevertheless, Wenger insists he has not given up on the England international, and fully expects to see him back at the heart of the Arsenal back four within the next couple of years.

“He has gone to Middlesbrough for the season, and it is vital for him to play,” said the Arsenal boss. “I personally think he will be a great centre-back.”

Wenger does not intend to allow Boro to complete a permanent deal at the end of Chambers’ loan spell, although the defender is at something of a crossroads in his career and clearly needs to impress over the next nine months if he is to have any chance of forcing his way into the first-team picture with his parent club.

He can play at either centre-half or right-back, a positional mix that puts him in direct competition with Antonio Barragan, who has performed so impressively since completing a summer move from Valencia.

Barragan only moved to Teesside this summer, yet he has already played in all four positions across the backline and is clearly someone Karanka feels he can trust. He replaced Emilio Nsue last weekend, even though the Equatorial Guinea international has been one of Karanka’s key players in the last 12 months.

Jordan McGhee is another player who will be hoping to thrust himself into Boro’s defensive mix this season, having completed a summer loan move from Hearts.

McGhee is currently training with Paul Jenkins’ development group, and the 20-year-old centre-half was part of the Under-23s team that maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 win over Swansea City on Monday night.

Arnel Jakupovic and Callum Cooke scored Boro’s goals, with 18-year-old goalkeeper Aynsley Pears, who is the son of former Boro goalkeeper Stephen, making his debut at Premier League 2 level.

“I thought we weren’t great in the opening 30 minutes,” said Jenkins. “It took us a while to get going, but when we pushed the team up a bit and pressed them higher we started to win the ball higher up the pitch.”