I was so happy when I joined Arsenal – but it was a no-brainer to leave

Departing north London to find regular minutes elsewhere felt like a necessary move for the defender

Calum Chambers was "so happy" when he signed for Arsenal - but his switch to Aston Villa in 2022 ended up being a "no-brainer." The defender began his professional journey at Southampton before spending nearly a decade in north London - with the two sides set to clash on Saturday evening in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Chambers completed his move to Villa in January 2022 after recognising his Arsenal career had reached its conclusion. He had spent eight years in north London, featuring loan spells at Middlesbrough and Fulham, and ultimately fell short of the promise that prompted a fee of up to £16million for him as a 19-year-old.

In total, Chambers registered 122 appearances across five campaigns for the Gunners, scoring five goals and providing nine assists from defensive positions. By the time he arrived on a free transfer in Birmingham, he'd come to terms with the fact his future lay elsewhere.

Speaking to Sky Sports at the time, the defender explained just how significant this move was for his career. Chambers said: "It moved pretty quickly. I was at that point in my career where I wasn't getting a chance at Arsenal.

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"It felt like I needed to move on and have a have a fresh start. Then in January the opportunity came up to come to Villa and as soon as I heard that I remember thinking, 'Wow, what an opportunity to come to a club like this.'

"I needed a new challenge, something fresh. This was perfect. It was a no-brainer to be honest. As soon as I heard it, I was like, 'Yeah, let's get this done, let's do this.' After that, it all happened pretty quickly."

Chambers registered 36 total appearances for the Villans, netting once and providing another assist. Following a decline in playing time in Birmingham, he departed the club by mutual consent in the summer of 2024 before settling in Wales. He signed for Cardiff City and now serves as captain of the League One outfit.

The 31-year-old may be approaching the latter stages of his career but continues to demonstrate his "party trick" of scoring spectacular long-range efforts. The former Gunner spoke about his unique ability as he discussed Cardiff's promotion push.

Chambers said: "It's something I like to do. I've popped up every now and again over my career and scored a nice goal here and there.

"It's like a little party trick of mine. It comes out every now and again. I think someone told me after the game, exactly a year ago today (Sunday), it was the Middlesbrough goal (for Cardiff in the Championship).

"I do enjoy getting forward in that part of the game. I started as a kid as a right winger, so I do think I've got an instinct for it. But it's just nice to help the team and a clean sheet really is more important for me."