By Danny Wright

22nd May, 2017 | 2:31pm

Confirmed: Arsenal 22-year-old bids farewell to team-mates

By Danny Wright

Arsenal defender Calum Chambers had said his final goodbyes to his Middlesbrough team-mates after a season long loan at the Riverside came to an end on Monday.

The 22-year-old’s departure was confirmed by Boro’s official website, which also said that Alvaro Negredo is now returning to Valencia.

Chambers had been a big part of Middlesbrough’s squad in the recently ended campaign, but couldn’t stop them from being relegated back to the Championship.

He made 26 appearances in all competitions during his temporary stay on Teeside and scored one goal which came in a surprise 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

However a foot injury hampered a large part of his loan spell but the first-team experience at the Riverside will no doubt aid his development.

“Calum Chambers and Alvaro Negredo said farewell to their Boro team-mates on Monday as the club’s players parted for the summer break,” read the statement on Middlesbrough’s official website on Monday.

“England Under-21s international Chambers and Spanish international striker Negredo had both been with Boro on season-long loan deals from Arsenal and Valencia respectively.”

Chambers, who has three full international caps with England, played once for Arsenal at the beginning of the season in the 4-3 loss to Liverpool at the Emirates, in which he scored.

He signed for the Gunners in 2014 after emerging through the illustrious Southampton academy and the centre-back has since played 59 times across all competitions for the North London club.

Football Insider Verdict

Chambers’ spell at Middlesbrough was certainly not a waste of time as it gave him a vast amount of first-team experience which will definitely help him reach his peak. Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere also had similar moves to some of the Premier League’s weaker teams and that certainly helped them go on to achieve great things. Arsene Wenger’s switch to a back three could mean that Chambers might still have a role to play at the Emirates despite spending the season in the North-East. His ability to play as a central defender or as a right-back means he is perfectly suited to play on the right side of a defensive three.

In other Arsenal news, a Sky Sports pundit has given his views on Alexis Sanchez’s future with the Gunners.

We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Arsenal breaking news.