Why Calum Chambers could hold the key to Arsenal’s season

His team’s 4-0 hammering of Hull in the FA Cup fifth-round replay came at a huge cost with three players ruled out with injury, just days before they face Watford in the quarter-finals and then Barcelona in the Champions League last-16 return leg at the Nou Camp.

So, as the dust settles on their latest spate of sprains and strains, we ask how Arsenal's team will be affected in the coming weeks and find an unlikely linchpin in Calum Chambers, whose performances could have a dramatic effect on their season...

Per Mertesacker, Gabriel and Aaron Ramsey were all forced off against Hull, giving Wenger 10 first-team players out of action.

And these are not simply squad players. Around half of the 10 would, form permitting, be part of Wenger’s first-choice team.

The most disrupted area is centre-back, with Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel all on the treatment table. This forced Wenger to use Nacho Monreal and Chambers as a makeshift pairing in defence, with Mathieu Flamini performing admirably at right back.

Of his injured players, Wenger said: “Mertesacker has a cut on his eye so he should be fine. Gabriel [hamstring problem] looks all right. Ramsey [thigh injury] looks the most serious.”

One thing is certain: Arsenal really do get more injury problems than any of their close competitors in the Premier League. A decade-long study completed just over a year ago found that the Gunners had lost 13,161 days to injury between 2004 and 2014, compared to United's 11,385, City's 10,053 and Chelsea's 7,217. Only Newcastle suffered worse, with 13,344.

The question is why. There are various explanations flying around, of course; the trouble is that none of them are particularly compelling.

Dutch fitness expert – and former assistant Wales coach – Raymond Verheijen had slammed Wenger as being “unconsciously incompetent” at training and treating his players “like Marines” in pre-season which focuses too much on short-term fitness.

Then there is the Gulliver Theory – mockingly made up on the spot at The Guardian – which tries to correlate the number of shorter players in Arsenal’s squad to the number of calls to casualty.

Perhaps the most plausible claim comes from former Gooners Ian Wright and Martin Keown, who claimed last year that the Gunners' rock-hard training ground at London Colney was to blame.

Equally, it could just be bad luck. Someone has to end up top of the injuries table - and it might just be that, together with a bit of fatigue from long seasons with campaigns fought on several fronts (of course, Chelsea's vastly-better injury record strains that theory to the limit).

There may also be something that Wenger - who has a reputation as an innovator - has done without realising it. When he first came to English football he actually shortened Arsenal’s training sessions, changed their diet and turned up the temperature on the team bus to keep the players’ muscles warm and less likely to be strained.

To accuse him of incompetence and ignorance is therefore pretty harsh – especially without witnessing his training sessions first hand.

Arsenal have also not been helped by their own success so far this season by staying in cup competitions to the later rounds. Fighting on more fronts is simply more likely to result in injuries due to increased game time. For instance, if they had beaten Hull at the first attempt they would only have seven players out injured, not 10.

Looking at PhysioRoom, five English clubs involved in European competition who have also reached the latter stages of domestic cups – Arsenal, Manchester United, West Ham, Everton and Liverpool, – make up five of the top seven clubs with the most injuries. So it seems it is not just the Gunners who have shot themselves in the foot by winning.

Well, despite all the injuries, Wenger can still pick a strong XI. He may well bring back a few of his top names that were rested against Hull – especially if he considers the FA Cup now the priority over the Champions League, given their 2-0 first-leg deficit to Barcelona in their last 16 tie.

Chambers may well have to deputise at centre back again, given the Gabriel has a hamstring injury. Such problems are slow to heal with a high chance of recurrence, so Wenger may well decide not to take a risk.

And therefore, the performance of the 21-year-old Chambers will be key, given that Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney will be in the opposition ranks. The Watford pair are approaching the 30 goals mark between them this season and have tested some of the best defences in the league. Although they have been through a barren run of late – without a goal for four games – they are a tried and tested partnership. Chambers and Mertesacker are not.

Throw into the mix that the FA Cup is Arsenal’s brightest hope of a trophy this season, and Sunday’s game takes on even more significance. Lose and they will head to Barcelona with another under-strength side that runs the risk of being dismantled if they are not on their game. And if a savaging in Spain does unfold, their season will well and truly have unravelled and there will be little chance to turn it around.