Calum Chambers

Calum Chambers (born 20 January 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for club Aston Villa.

Originally a member of Southampton's academy system, Chambers was promoted to the first team at the beginning of the 2012–13 campaign.

After two seasons with the club, he moved to fellow Premier League club Arsenal.

Having spent seven seasons at Arsenal, he moved to Aston Villa in January 2022.

He went through the ranks at the club and at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, Chambers was revealed as one of four youth players to be promoted to the first-team.

During the pre-season period he made a number of appearances for the team, playing in the Memorial Cup against Anderlecht, coming on as a second-half substitute in the matches against Évian Thonon Gaillard and Étoile Carouge, and making late appearances against Ajax and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Chambers made his full debut for Southampton on 28 August 2012 in a 4–1 win over Stevenage in the second round of the League Cup, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Dean Hammond and providing the assist for the final goal of the match by Ben Reeves.

On 31 July 2013, Chambers signed a new four-year contract with Southampton.

He made his first-team league debut on 17 August, when he played the full 90 minutes at right-back of the opening match of the 2013–14 season in a 1–0 win against West Bromwich Albion.

Chambers made three senior international appearances for the England national team in 2014.

Born in Petersfield, Hampshire, Chambers joined Southampton at the age of seven.

He made a total of 25 appearances for Southampton in all competitions, of which 22 were in the league, before leaving in the summer of 2014.

On 28 July 2014, it was announced that he had signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee, rising to a potential £16 million with performance-related add-ons.

Chambers made his first appearance for Arsenal on 2 August 2014, starting in central defence in a 5–1 win against Benfica in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament.

On 10 August, Chambers made his competitive debut for Arsenal, playing the full 90 minutes of the 2014 FA Community Shield against Premier League champions Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.

Playing at centre-back instead of his usual right-back position to cover for Per Mertesacker, the BBC wrote on his performance against the Premier League champions that "his mature performance defied his youthful years".

On 16 August, Chambers played his first Premier League match for Arsenal in a 2–1 win against Crystal Palace.

He played the first European fixture of his career three days later, a goalless draw in the first leg of Arsenal's Champions League play-off away to Beşiktaş.

Following a strong start to the season, Chambers was nominated for the 2014 Golden Boy award, alongside international teammates Raheem Sterling, Luke Shaw and John Stones.

He scored the first senior goal of his career and registered an assist on 1 November as Arsenal beat Burnley 3–0 in a Premier League home victory.

He was sent off for the first time in his career on 6 December, as Arsenal lost 3–2 at Stoke City.

Chambers' appearances in the second half of the season were limited by the emergence of Héctor Bellerín at right-back.

He was not in Arsenal's matchday squad when they won the 2015 FA Cup Final 4–0 against Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium on 30 May.

Chambers began the 2016–17 Premier League in the starting line-up for Arsenal and scored in a 3–4 loss against Liverpool in the first match of the season.

On 30 August 2016, Chambers joined fellow Premier League team Middlesbrough on a season-long loan.

On 24 September 2016, he made his debut in a 2–1 defeat against Tottenham in the league.

On 30 April 2017, he scored his only goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Manchester City.

Prior to his return to Arsenal, Chambers was a key figure on the team and made a total of 26 appearances for Middlesbrough.

Chambers made his first appearance of the 2017–18 season in the 1–0 win over Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup, but was substituted at half time due to injury.

On 3 July 2018, Chambers signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.

On 7 August 2018, Chambers signed with fellow Premier League side Fulham on a season long loan.

On 11 August, he made his debut in a 2–0 loss against Crystal Palace in the league.

Although he had previously always been playing as a centre-back or full-back, Chambers was mostly deployed as a central midfielder during his time at Fulham, and his excellent performances in this new role led to him winning the 2018–19 Fulham Player of the Season award, with 48.4 per cent of the votes—more than three times any other player nominated.

He would score his first goal for the club in a 4–2 victory over Brighton on 29 January 2019.

After Fulham's relegation from the Premier League, Chambers returned to Arsenal ahead of the 2019–20 season.

He scored his first goal of the season on 22 September 2019, scoring Arsenal's 2nd in a 3–2 victory against Aston Villa.

Chambers' goal helped sparked the comeback for 10-man Arsenal, as they rallied from behind twice to pick up all three points.

Two days later, on 24 September 2019, Chambers played the full 90-minutes at right-back, providing three assists in Arsenal's 5–0 EFL Cup victory over Nottingham Forest.

On 29 December 2019, Chambers ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee in a 2–1 defeat by Chelsea.

As a result, he was expected to be out of action for six to nine months.