Cardiff's Chambers eyes memorable Swansea return

Cardiff City defender Calum Chambers signed a three-year deal with the Bluebirds after leaving Aston Villa

When Calum Chambers left Aston Villa to sign for Cardiff City this summer, he did it with the aim of creating memories.

A first step towards that would be banishing some to forget as both the defender and his new club prepare to return to Swansea City.

For the club it is a scene where too many games against their rivals have not gone their way.

For Chambers, it is the ground where he may have wished would swallow him up after an afternoon in action for Arsenal he admits taught him a lot.

Now 29, the defender was still in his teens when Swansea welcomed Arsenal in pouring south Wales rain in November 2014.

Chambers - who made 122 appearances for Arsenal - up against Jefferson Montero (R) in his last start at Swansea, a 2-1 defeat in November 2014

Just a few months after his big-money move from Southampton, and with first England appearances already to his name, Chambers found himself in the spotlight as he struggled time and time again against speedy Swansea winger Jefferson Montero. Social media was not particularly kind.

“It was actually an important game for me,” says Chambers, of a performance described as having a torrid time of things.

“That was years ago when I was up against a very good winger. It was a good game for me to take and learn from it. It was tough but I took a lot from it.”

Criticism followed, as did – eventually – some gentle ribbing from teammates on Arsenal’s in-house media.

So Chambers could be forgiven for wanting Sunday’s south Wales derby – at a ground he has not started at since that night, nutmegs and all – to be a chance to bury some ghosts.

And with the Bluebirds carrying some derby demons of their own with just one win from their past six Swansea meetings, it all points to something of a chance of redemption at the expense of their rivals.

“There’s an opportunity to do something special for the club in these games and it’s up to us to take that,” he says.

If there is a personal motivation, it is bigger than just drawing a line after an afternoon to forget.

At Arsenal, slowly Chambers moved down the pecking order to the periphery of the team. A serious knee injury did not help, while Premier League loans at Middlesbrough and Fulham showed his ability, but not the chance to push on.

When he did leave the Emirates, initial promise at Villa did not last, leading to Unai Emery telling Chambers he was free to leave.

There is no grudge, but there is an acceptance his next step was crucial.

“It was a definitely a key move for me”, says Chambers having dropped out of the top-flight for the first time in his career when he signed a three-year deal with Cardiff last month.

“I’d had a few years where it’s been tough, where I've not been able to have the opportunities to play as much I'd like, so I wanted to play and enjoying playing again.

“I wanted to go somewhere and create memories at a club to look back on and be proud of, to really feel a part of something.

“And it just felt the timing was right for me and Cardiff; the conversations we had felt like we were both going in the right direction towards that. Our journeys were meeting at the right place and the right time.”

A journey Chambers hopes leads to a return to the Premier League, almost suggesting he has unfinished business in proving he can play at that level.

It hasn’t started as neither fans nor manager Erol Bulut would have hoped. Losing at home to Sunderland was followed by a 5-0 beating at Burnley, the latter coming after Cardiff had actually impressed in the first-half as they edge towards a possession game the likes of Chambers and old Arsenal teammate Aaron Ramsey are used to.

“To lose by that score is not acceptable at any level of football, but in our job you have to bounce back quickly,” he says.

“We're in a place where we're trying to implement a style of football into Cardiff and I think there have been positives to take.

“I think we're just a few small tweaks away from getting it really right. And I think it's important for us all to believe that and take that into the game on Sunday.”

Get it right, and Chambers could be in for an afternoon to remember for the right reasons.