Matthew Upson, (born April 18, 1979), is an English football player. He is a strong central defender.
He started his career at Luton where he was tipped as a future England international and caught the eye of a number of Premiership clubs. He was bought by Arsenal in 1997, but never got an extended run in the first team, as the club looked abroad to replace the stalwart Adams/Bould rearguard.
After a number of injury setbacks and only a handful of opportunities in Arsenal's first XI, Upson went out on loan to Reading. He impressed during his time with the Royals, so much so he was bought by Birmingham in January 2002. Finally getting the regular Premiership football his talent deserved, the strong centre back broke into the England squad that same year. As of 14 November 2005 he had played for England 7 times.
