The now 28-year-old defender joined the north London side in 2014 for a reported £16m, with Arsene Wenger seeing major potential in Chambers having broken into Southampton’s first-team the previous season.
Nevertheless, Chambers’ career hasn’t reached the heights many had anticipated; nearly nine years after the transfer, the centre back has “stagnated” and is currently unable to obtain a game at Aston Villa.
Additionally, considering how little the defender played for the Saints, Southampton insiders were reportedly taken aback by how quickly Chambers made the transition to a team of Arsenal’s calibre.
In fact, Chambers’ haste to sign with a major Premier League team like Arsenal may have contributed to his current situation with Villa. He is a three-time England international.
However, if Chambers had stayed at Southampton, it’s impossible to predict where the defender would have ended up because football’s “What Ifs” are frequently marred by circumstances that few fans would ever think about.
Calum Chambers moved at Arsenal at the ideal time in his career
It’s difficult to speculate where Chambers may have ended up if he had stayed at Southampton, even though there is a valid case that the defender moved to Arsenal too soon in his career.
Although Chambers was one of the nation’s most exciting prospects in 2014, who knows what would have happened to the centre back given Southampton’s dominant position in the Premier League at the time.
Although Chambers’ time at Arsenal resulted in injuries and loan stints, it also helped him establish himself as a fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium and as a key member of the Gunners for many years.
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