Is Campbell’s agent harming his career at Arsenal?

A lot of the Arsenal transfer talk during the summer, especially during the World Cup finals in Brazil, was about Joel Campbell and whether the young Costa Rica forward would finally get his chance to play for Arsenal after signing for the club in 2011 but spending the next three seasons at various clubs on loan.

His performances last season and then in Brazil were pretty impressive and there seemed to be no shortage of interest in him from other clubs, but the 22-year old seemed determined to play for the Gunners and I remember his agent Joaquim Batica declaring that he was not interested in going elsewhere and was determined to fight for his place.

And all that seemed to have convinced the boss because, even though he has not started a game for us yet this season, he has made two appearances and Wenger stated that he would not be going anywhere during the transfer window. So it is a little surprising, to say the least, to read in Metro that Campbell is unhappy that a late bid from Benfica was turned down, with the agent moaning about Wenger’s decision.

Batica told the Portuguese press, “Benfica fought until the last minute to sign Campbell but the move didn’t happen because, in the last hour, Arsenal decided to keep him.

“Wenger says he did not want to sell him. But if he is not in his plans, then why not allow him to leave?”

Well you would have to assume that Campbell is in his plans for Arsenal, although I doubt that the agent’s criticism will help, especially if it does represent the player’s feelings. That is not the way to get around Wenger. We have all been baffled at times by the Prof’s use, or lack of use, of some players, but he is the man who decides and ultimately takes the blame or credit for our results.

Maybe he doesn’t feel Campbell is ready to start a Premier League game yet and If I was Campbell, I would get my head down, work hard inb training and ask my agent to keep his mouth shut. What do you guys think?

Tags Benfica Wenger

41 Comments

  1. his attitude worries me, even though thats coming from his agent, but its pretty sad to see agents dictating a players career. Benfica is a big club, but if you are an Arsenal player, to me, thats like moving to West Brom. Take a look at Hulk, he left Porto for Zenit for a huge paycheck, what are the player thinking.

    1. His attitude does worry everyone and the season has not got rolling yet, wait buddy and you will get your chance, for fuks sake

      1. So in the Leicester game you thought Wenger got the tactics and sub timings spot on then? You must be totally happy with the performances we have put in against Palace, Everton and a Turkish outfit which could be pounded by Galatereri.. You think that Rosicky and Podolski are happy bunnies, and that Ozil loves playing on the left wing?

  2. Campbell is playing regularly on loan….he could have gone and play for Milan, Benfica or etc…..

    playing in the reserves regularly is not good enough for him…….

  3. i’m with campbell on this one: if wenger doesn’t start him in either Manc nor Dortmund, campbell should be disappointed.

    Wenger is rotating more than he used to, but his squad has more depth now that its disappointing that neither of campbell, roz nor pod have got a start even tho we are playing twice weekly.

    hopefully we’ll see them given a few starts in the next few weeks.

    1. if Arsene Wenger had allowed him to go on loan, we would be blaming him for not having enough cover upfront.

      1. Gut even then he didn;t use Joel. He lead the Costa Rica line in the World Cup quarter finals, but Wenger still put Sanogo ahead of him, We all applauded Welbeck for forcing his move to us because he was told he was 5th choice. Why can’t you see that Wenger has done the same to Joel, but isn’t man enough to let him kick start his career. He’s been with us for 3 years and Wenger couldn’t care less about Joel. It’s a total disgrace because if he had had the development he needed we could have been talking about him the same way as we are about James Rodriguez.

        1. You are not Joel’s agent on here under an alias are you? You see a game changing world beater and I see a kid who has done moderately well on loan for 3 years and has nothing more in his locker than quite a few other squad players who are standing in line. We bang on every bleeding year about squad depth and now we have a bit more than we are used to everyone is bleating about their favourites not playing. If Wenger had no use for him he would have gone this window – he needs to calm down and wait.

          1. Another one happy with how things are. How much better have our players done? Did Sanogo play at the World Cup? Did Welbeck lead the England team’s line at the World Cup? Did England play better than Costa Rica are they ranked above Costa Rica?
            Joel is only 22 true, but how much more energy has Wenger spent on Sanogo, Wilshere, Chambers etc etc.

            Don’t be so England centric, Joel has International and Champions League experience.

          2. Sorry I was churlish below, I’m not an agenl. Joel’s case is the tip of an ice berg, because it’s not just his agent, but Rosicky and Poldi who are moaning too. Neither of them are trouble makers and both love the club. They would know if things are amiss (even after 3 weeks)

    2. There will be a dozen players rightly disappointed not to start – what marks JC out as a special case?

  4. if wengers favoritism continues, i can guarantee it will not be campbell alone asking for a move come january and i would not blame any of the players whom will want to move at that time

    1. Agreed, and those just putting red ticks against thisneed to open their eyes. Wenger is dropping the ball, and senior players like Rosicky and Poldolski are not happy either.

  5. Surely Wenger made it clear
    to Campbell what Campbells
    pathway was?
    The signing of Wellbeck as
    a replacement for the injured Giroud
    should not have affected Campbells pathway.
    Either there has been miscommunication
    or one party is not playing ball with
    regards to the agreement.
    Is Wenger reneging on his committment to Campbell
    or is Campbell demanding a fast tracking of the agreement?

    1. Wenger’s pathway for Campbell was made clear when Lee Dixon said at the World Cup that Wenger was going to sell him. He hasn’t cared about Joel whose been farmed out for 3 years without Wenger taking any notice of his development. He was surprised by Joel at the World Cup. It sounds like Arsenal tried to use him as bait to get Remy and Carvahlo, but Joel would never have gone to QPR and Sporting want to tie Carvahlo down with a 5 year contract to get more for him. Benfica wanted Joel because he tore them apart. Wenger has no plans for Joel sadly

  6. rooney, van pus*y and facao will fight for the top spot, Campbell cannot argue if he is asked to compete with sanogo and welbeck.

    1. You do realise that Joel could be on the ballon d’or short-list with a couple of years don’t you. There is a reason why footballers like Falcao follow him on social media.

  7. Just imagin a scenerio where campbel ws french and sanogo ws not french,lets nt beat around the bush n pretend we r blind to what wenger does,liverpool gave sterling a chanc man u the same to januzaj nw luk wher they r bt for wenger our youngsters has huge potential bt they rot on the bench take the example of Ox for hw many years hs he been in our team n we r seeing no improvmnt and the boy is good nowdays wenger hinders the progress of our youngstars n to be frank campbell is right to want to leav us coz i dnt thnk he wil play mo games than the beloved Sanogo nt because sanogo z better than him bt simply bcoz he z french!

  8. when have agents been around for the well being of the player? the more their players move from clubs to clubs, the more cash they make from commissions. no wonder there have been so many loans this seasons.. talk about ruining football

    1. I’m not an agent, but that is sweeping generalisation. There are some fantastic agents out there who care about their players. Many agent look after their players from a really young age and the relationship is more like family than a business one. There are rogues, and there are some nasty problems with hijacking in certain parts. I don’t know anything about Joel’s agent, but he public said to Wenger that he wouldn’t be happy for Joel to be left on the bench. As far as I can see, his agent is annoyed with ow Joel is being treated. Sadly our view of football is blinkered. We hold our English players up as being equal to the best in the World. Well our performance at the World Cup and against Norway is where we are. Joel I’m afraid to say is better than some of our “English core”, Play him or Loose him, that’s the game.

  9. @admin these video ads really getting me mad switch video ads bloody off makes it immposaible to use on phone

  10. It won’t be just campbell asking for a transfer, it will be podolski and rosiscky. They’re all on the papers demanding more playing time and wenger continues to field the same damn 11 every game. He makes changes in the 77 mins or if a player is injured, what kinda manager does this? i’m serious this man is living off of his past glories. One FA cup in 10 years and he’s put on a different level, he really needs to listen to the fans and rotate the players that are available to him instead of letting them rot on the bench until they demand a transfer like TV5.

    1. I just commented on another article that I thought Wenger needs to think about asking DB10 to become his assistant. I think Wenger needs someone to tell him that he’s wrong sometimes and I remember Dennis never did mind telling him that. Also, Dennis loves the club as much as we do so we would know that he wants the best for Arsenal too.

  11. Campbell is a young lad. He never played in england before. Wenger feels its better to give him a slow introduction to this high intensity league. I dont see anything wrong with that. Its a damn long league and joel will get his chances. I truly back wenger for not throwing straight away . He is trying to settle in joel to epl by first giving him sub appearances and lot of pracice sessions to gel with intensity of epl. If wenger doesnt rate joel he wont be staying hhere now

      1. Campbell is a special talent. He may not make it to the very top, but then again he coudl very well do. Some things he does are breathtaking. Loosing a unique talent could cost us badly.

  12. Am with Campbell in this one not the agent. Remember Pogba became a hit in Italy once he shook off the ManU shackles. Might not have shone if he remained under the wings of a mean manager who was blind to his hunger and attributes. Three years in the wilderness ain’t a joke.

  13. @Sango Pogba moved to Juventus not Benfica, theres a big gap between those clubs. There must be reasons why Wenger refuses to sell Campbell (and Diaby) even tho there were offers from other clubs like Milan and Benfica. Shouldnt the boy take that as a hint? Leaving Arsenal doesnt always guarantee playing time and we all know that.

  14. I actually think campbell’s agent has been as much of a driving force behind the young lads career as campbell has. It wouldn’t have been easy carving a top career from costa Rica and yet here he sits on the cusp of great things. He had an ok world cup, first game helped, the rest of the matches he ploughed through working hard but with not much end product. Let’s not forget wenger will be working on what he sees in training now not what he saw in the world cup 3 months ago. If sanogo is banging them in for fun in training but campbell couldn’t hit a barn door what should wenger do? I am not saying that is happening, but I have to add in the pictures I have seen of campbell he does look a little ’rounded’ it could just be he needs to up his fitness levels a little. I am sure he will get chances really soon, Southampton in the league cup is especially good timing and i expect all those players with little game time by then to play.

    2 massive games coming up before then and we need to play the fittest players we have that doesn’t necessarily mean our best x1 as our whole 31 man squad is good now and by the time we play city on next weekend it could be that giroud is our only absentee. That will be a massive boost for an arsenal team so usually shredded by injury.

    1. Joel’s games were more than okish. They didn’t set the World alight because that wasn’t the role he had. His job was to hold the ball up by himself in order to allow his team mates to break from defence. The opposition couldn’t bring the defence up to press Costa Rica because Joel was such a threat. He was the joint most fouled player at the World Cup, and in the Italy and Greece game it still took 2 and even sometimes 3 people to mark him, He didn’t shine out brightly to the casual fan because of the tactics employed by Costa Rica, that is all.

  15. Cambell should take it easy, its too early to be complaining abt game time, Wenger is d coach, he knows the best, he knows the beast players for 1st eleven, ppl complained abt poldoski back den, every body can see now dat wenger was right, players like Ramsey, Wilshere, Gibbs n Theo didn’t just start games straight away, they were on bench for some times. Theo was sub for long time. Cambell pls take it easy, even me want him play, but I understands we can only start 11 players once, we can’t start 13 players.

    1. Wenger knows best. I use to believe so too, but there are too many blatant mistakes with his actions, transfers being one. There is a reason French TV have dropped Wenger after 10 years. Football has changed, and he no longer gets it.

  16. It is Wenger who is harming Campbell Career by not giving him chances to play. Why he prefers Sanogo to campbell is a mystery

  17. still think wenger just wants his starting XI to gel first , before he starts rotating. Said this before… Season is still long

  18. Who knows how accurate this report is, what the agents motives are,is the report out of context etc. Metro (and most of the press) will twist anything to get a story. Accurate, factual, unbiased and informed reporting is very rare.

    Joel Campbell has spent 3 years on loan. After the World Cup he must have expressed a desire to play for Arsenal otherwise wenger would have sold him and made a good profit. We can only assume that he still wants to play for Arsenal, perhaps Wenger is waiting for the right opportunity to play him, so that he gains confidence rather than losing it. If the report about Benfica is true then it just demonstates that benfica were desperate to sign him and Arsenal rejected their advances. This is a non story, i should not be wasting my time commenting.

    I am looking forward to see him play and really hope he does well, another goal against manu would be good.

    1. But surely Rosicky’s and Podolski’s comments concern you? After 3 weeks 2 senior players are discontent tells me that they are not just unhappy about game time, but feel that in training those who are being selected aren’t necessarily those who are playing best. Neither Rosicky nor Podolski are trouble makers, and both love the club.

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