Arsenal got just 11 goals and six assists with just 62 appearances from the Mexico international striker Carlos Vela, despite him being registered as an Arsenal player from the age of 16 in 2005 until 2012, when Arsene Wenger finally allowed him to leave the club on a permanent basis.
It was clear from the Frenchman keeping him signed up and sending him out on a number of loan spells to various clubs and countries, that he saw something in Vela and kept believing that Vela would come good. And we know that he was right because he has been proving just that with his new club Real Sociedad.
I can see a lot of similarity in the current situation with our Costa Rican international Joel Campbell, who decided to join La Liga club Villarreal in January to get some much needed game time. Campbell has yet to score for the Spanish club so you could understand if Wenger was planning to let him leave as part of the transfer deal to bring the central midfielder William Carvalho to Arsenal, as suggested in a report by The Mirror.
But just like Vela, the Prof has seen a lot of promise in Campbell and I’m sure that he would hate to sell him and then see the striker realise that potential somewhere else. Should we give Campbell more time?