CAL OF DUTY!

Supersub Chambers strikes just 23 seconds after being sent into action

SUPERSUB Calum Chambers – three consecutive words you won’t have read very often – sprang from the bench like a caped crusader.

Arsenal’s unlikely hero broke Leeds’ resistance with his first touch, 23 seconds after replacing the injured Ben White to light the Gunners’ path towards the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

His first goal since September 2019 brought the house down – and brought the curtain down on another worrying defeat for toothless Leeds.

Fifty seasons down the track from the centenary FA Cup final, this fixture will always tug at the heart-strings at both ends of the M1. Memories of Allan Clarke’s diving header and Mick Jones having to be helped up Wembley’s 39 steps by Norman Hunter after dislocating his elbow are enshrined in Yorkshire legend.

But Leeds have fallen short of godfather Don Revie’s standards this season, and Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to play a strong hand looked more like a cry for help than El Loco flexing his muscles.

Rarely, if ever, has a trip to Norwich loomed larger than Bielsa’s excursion to East Anglia this weekend, when defeat would make the Premier League table read like a threatening letter. The 5,000 travelling fans added considerably to an atmosphere which had the air of a halfterm outing in north London.

It is fair to say Arsenal’s recovery, after a woeful start, has been carried by their younger players while some of their more experienced core should have been reported to Scotland Yard’s missing persons bureau. It is also fair to say this competition is one of only two trophies the Gunners can hope to lift this season.

Mikel Arteta’s options for keeping his squad makeweights happy are limited.

Nine changes, when there’s a cup to be won, was a gamble – but the coach was vindicated for rolling the dice.

For 55 minutes, despite all their frisky enthusiasm, Arsenal made little headway.

Recalled keeper Bernd Leno, making his first start in five weeks after losing the No.1 spot to Aaron Ramsdale, was required to make a sharp low save to deny Jack Harrison.

But when £50million defender White – who spent an outstanding season on loan at Elland Road two years ago – was forced to retire hurt 10 minutes after the break, it paved the way for Chambers to make his mark in dramatic fashion.

Seconds after joining the fray, Chambers smuggled his header over the line from Nicolas Pepe’s knock-back before Leeds keeper Illan Meslier could shovel it away.

Ref Andre Marriner did not signal a goal immediately, but eventually he received the correct advice – and Chambers raced straight to the Arsenal bench to celebrate.

Then League Cup specialist Eddie Nketiah (left), who has scored seven goals in eight appearances in the competition, struck on 69 minutes. He seized on Liam Cooper’s feeble back header, skipped round Meslier and found the net despite shinning his finish to make it 2-0.