When Mikel Arteta scanned a well-stocked substitutes’ bench for potential matchwinners, Calum Chambers’ face would not have leapt out. So it was a turnup for the books that his defender, who had not kicked a competitive ball in anger for two months and has barely appeared in a matchday squad since, breached Leeds within seconds of coming on and sparked an ultimately straightforward win. Chambers just about beat Illan Meslier with his first touch and Arsenal’s progression to the quarter-finals was in little doubt thereafter.
Chambers had only been deployed because Ben White felt unable to continue after feeling unwell. His intervention was the cue for
Arsenal to take complete control of a previously sterile game and their second goal was a reminder of another talent whose career sits at a crossroads. Eddie Nketiah’s only previous
Football this season had come in the third round of this competition, against AFC Wimbledon; he scored in that game and squeezed in another here, although the path to salvaging a long-term future in north
London still appears rocky for a player who needs regular starts at 22.