Emi Martinez sends four-word message to Chambers as he swaps Arsenal for Aston Villa

By Shamanth Jayaram

Aston Villa shocked Arsenal fans yesterday by agreeing a deal to sign Calum Chambers on a permanent deal.

That really did come out of nowhere last night.

Chambers only had six months left on his contract at Arsenal and he wasn’t in Mikel Arteta’s plans. However, fans believed that his versatility would convince the club to keep him around at least until the end of this season.

Steven Gerrard, who has been really ambitious in this window, spotted an opportunity and took it, and Chambers has joined his good pal Emi Martinez at Villa now.

• Video: 27-year-old spotted signing Arsenal shirt after rumours Arteta’s trying to sign him

Emi Martinez sends Instagram message to Calum Chambers

Chambers is not the first player to leave Arsenal and join Aston Villa. Martinez did the same not too long ago and some Arsenal fans are irked about that even to this day.

The Argentine has been phenomenal since he joined the club and if Chambers can have anywhere near as good an impact as the goalkeeper, he will end up being a fine signing for the Villans.

Martinez, who knows Chambers very well thanks to their time together at Arsenal, took to Instagram last night to welcome the Englishman to Villa.

“Welcome to Villa bro,” he wrote followed by a couple of fire and heart emojis.

• ‘Done deal confirmed’: Romano says Arsenal have reached ‘full agreement’ to complete first signing of 2022

Bad decision?

Chambers is a fantastic signing for Villa. He can play at right-back, centre-half and also in midfield and he has a ton of Premier League experience under his belt. He will be a fine player under Steven Gerrard, but are Arsenal right to let him go?

Yes, Chambers has barely played this season and he was unlikely get any game time even if he had stayed. However, Arsenal, who haven’t signed a player in this window yet, could leave themselves extremely short now.

The Gunners only have Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes and Rob Holding in central defence, while right-backs Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric Soares have both struggled with fitness issues.

Arsenal could be exposed if injuries or suspension hit their defence, which makes you question Arteta and Edu’s decision to let a player as useful as Chambers leave.

• Photo: Arteta calls up ‘extremely vocal’ 18-year-old Arsenal centre-back to first-team trip to Dubai