Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard sent 'perfect' message about Arsenal transfer

Ex-Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has praised his former club for signing Calum Chambers from Arsenal.

The club's all-time top Premier League goal scorer has labelled the transfer as 'perfect' and claims the 27-year-old will add versatility and depth to Steven Gerrard's squad.

Chambers joined Villa in a cut-price deal last week as he was set to enter the final six months of his Arsenal contract.

Villa head coach Gerrard outlined last month that he wanted to add a fourth centre-back to his team after Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe cut short his spell at the club to join Italian side Napoli for the rest of the campaign.

And Agbonlahor thinks Chambers will be a welcome addition to Gerrard's squad.

“The good thing about Callum Chambers is he’s back up for right-back and back up for centre-back,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider.

“He’ll be fourth-choice centre-half behind Kortney Hause but he’ll be second-choice right-back.

“For Steven Gerrard it’s perfect. He’s not going to kick up a fuss if he’s not playing. He knows he’s not going to be starting if everyone’s fit.

“I think it makes sense for Aston Villa. When you need a fourth-choice centre-half and a second-choice right-back you can’t be spending a lot of money.

“It’s a very clever bit of business from Aston Villa. We needed a bit of cover in that area.”