Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Calum Chambers and Jonny Evans Rumours

Calum Chambers will reportedly be allowed to leave Arsenal on loan during this transfer window, despite the north London club's defensive crisis.

Manager Arsene Wenger is still prepared to let Chambers find a new club, even though fellow centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista remain sidelined with injury, according to Sami Mokbel of MailOnline.

Mokbel stated that Wenger is not prepared to entertain a permanent deal for Chambers. However, he is still keen for the 21-year-old to earn "regular game time," something that is unlikely to happen with the Gunners.

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Chambers has struggled to develop since arriving at Arsenal from Southampton in 2014. A big problem has been identifying the versatile youngster's best position. He's capable of playing centre-back, full-back and even as a holding midfielder, but it's still unclear where he works best.

It would help the Gunners if Chambers were most comfortable at the heart of defence. Then he could play alongside new boy Rob Holding and give Laurent Koscielny a vital rest when needed.

Yet that experiment didn't work when Arsenal were beaten 4-3 by Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in their first game of the new season, with Chambers partnering Holding in central defence.

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Wenger responded by axing the older of the two for Arsenal's second game, a 0-0 draw away to champions Leicester City.

Afterwards, the Gunners chief was full of praise for Holding, per Sky Sports: "Nobody is speaking about the performance of Rob Holding today. You should be happy; he is English, he is 20 years old, but I'm sorry he didn't cost £55 million, so it cannot be good."

Meanwhile, former Gunners great Ian Wright told BT Sport (h/t Metro's James Goldman) that Chambers should leave Arsenal to rectify his stalled development: "Calum Chambers has been here three years, and then Rob Holding comes in from Bolton, who haven’t been doing that well, and he’s at the heart of their defence. For him to come in and get picked ahead of him, Calum must look to move on."

Interestingly, Mokbel identified West Bromwich Albion as one of the teams that may be interested in Chambers. The Baggies also have former Manchester United centre-back and current Arsenal target Jonny Evans on the books.

Evans is on the Gunners' radar, and his international manager Michael O'Neill believes the player is good enough for a top-four club, per Charlie Phillippe of the Daily Express: "Jonny was outstanding in France. He can switch in and out of systems. He's a top-level player and could play in a top-four Premier League club. The interest from Arsenal doesn't surprise me."

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Despite O'Neill's recommendation, any Arsenal attempt to snare Evans looked bleak when Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph recently reported that West Brom were pricing Wenger and Co. out by demanding £25 million for the Northern Ireland international.

However, a report from the Express & Star stated that such a demand hasn't been made, even though the Hawthorns club don't want to sell: "But the Gunners are yet to make a formal bid for Evans, and reports the Baggies were demanding £25 million for his signature are believed to be speculative."

Speculation about Evans' future intensified when he was left out of West Brom's EFL Cup tie against Northampton Town on Tuesday. However, manager Tony Pulis revealed that a hip problem was the reason for the 28-year-old's omission, per the Express & Star.

Evans isn't the marquee name many Arsenal supporters would welcome, but he's still a smart defender blessed with a plethora of Premier League experience. He'd add the savvy that the Gunners' makeshift defence has missed at times during the season's first two weeks.

If Wenger could strike a deal involving Evans and Chambers, one where sending the latter on loan offsets part of any fee for the former, he'd have done some smart business to reinforce one of the most glaring weaknesses in his squad.