To much surprise Arsenal’s Joel Campbell was sent out on a season long loan to Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon from the Emirates this summer. It was a decision that shocked many fans after the impressive season Campbell had with Arsenal last year, despite a limited number of appearances.
Campbell joined the Portuguese side on loan after he revealed that he couldn’t be assured of regular playing time at Arsenal and that he was disappointed not to get more games under Arsene Wenger last season, despite showing plenty of quality on the pitch. Campbell was seen to be much more impressive than the likes of Walcott and Oxlade Chamberlain last year, however the Costa Rican was unable to maintain a regular spot in the team and was often left out of match day squads all together.
Despite what seems to be an unclear rift between player and manager, it seems that Arsenal do hope to keep hold of the winger for the long term future. Many fans would be extremely disappointed to see him go, especially in similar circumstances to that of young Serge Gnabry, who left Arsenal at the end of the transfer window. I personally rate Campbell very highly, because despite not being the finished article, I think a good run of games in the team would see himself show all of the qualities that he possesses on a more consistent basis. He’s been seen to be a confident character on the pitch, even when in and out of the side, so you can only imagine his confidence if he got a regular spot on the pitch for Arsenal.
One person who agrees that Campbell is a top talent, is former Gunner and current Sporting Lisbon coach Luis Boa Morte, who after the Arsenal Legends fixture on Saturday, was keen to point out his praises of Joel Campbell. Boa Morte said:
“He’s exactly the type of player they need and he’s exactly the player Sporting Lisbon were looking for. He’s got all the qualities to play for them and as long as he does well, I’m sure we’ll be the beneficiaries here because he’ll come back an even better player. That’s the most important thing. He’s really powerful when he drives forward with the ball on the right-hand side. He’s definitely a handful for defenders.”
I am a big fan of Campbell and I think he should have gotten more of a chance under Wenger last term, especially with the under performances from the Ox and Walcott. Competition for places is however extremely high and so I can understand why he may feel that loan move would be best for him this season. At 24 years old, Campbell does still have plenty of time on his side to make a name for himself at Arsenal, but I do think Arsenal could’ve done with having his services available for this campaign.
By AH
On the one hand you have
Oxlade-Chamberlain – An injury-prone winger, who even at 23 years of age is yet to properly develop his end-product and the defensive side of his game to a satisfactory level.
On the other hand, you had
Joel Campbell – A highly motivated/driven winger who has garnered so much experience from several loan-spells (some of them fairly successful) across Europe, with an impressive resumè playing as a striker at the 2014 world-cup.
Who should you send on loan this time?
Ask Wenger.
Wenger is also fond of Sanogo
I don’t see Sanogo being any better than Bendtner and Chamakh TBH
There is more hope for Akpom than Sanogo
JC- highly motivated? Yes! several loan-spells? yes!
fairly successful? No, he had solid spells! Impressive resume? Absolutely not, he had one great game against uruguay and the rest was all bryan ruiz
look the problem i see is, campbell is a solid player but i doubt he has potential upwards i think he has already achieved his ability which he will maintain through the years and thats solid, he would be a good back-up, but he doesnt want that, so no choice there whereas ox is back-up and theo is the only one right now who on form has enough output/production in that slot for a starter-role
@Krish
Gonna have to disagree with you on this one dude. JC has something neither Aaron, Ox or Theo has. And thats a “fighting” spirit. His dribbling skills, link up play and defensive play, puts him over all of those 3. The only thing Thoe or Ox have over him is pace…
@NY_Gunner Haha i know you are a huge Joel, Afobe and Wellington supporter ^^ well i agree with you on a lot of things except that i think that ramsey also has a fighting spirit and that the ox is equal to joel in dribbling, but sadly we probably wont see him succeed here at arsenal, i would be happy too if that happens, i do like him, but yeah i think overall in this matter we will have to agree to disagree
@Krish
No harm, no foul Gooner…2 down. 1 to go…Lol
“fairly successful? No, he had solid spells!”
Some fairly successful. Case in point: Olympiacos
“Impressive resume? Absolutely not”
You will find out many disagree with you. It is not just about the one game he scored in. The way he led the line for a lowly Costa Rica side throughout the tournament -the heart, the maturity and industriousness he showed was inspiring to say the least.
Even more impressive when you consider the fact he was just a 21 year old winger making his debut at the world cup playing as striker for his country.
*Some fairly successful..
Keyword here being SOME.
Campbell is a quality player and wish he would have stayed
But With us having Alexis, Perez, Giroud, Akpom, Walcott, Oxlade, Iwobi and Ramsey (Wenger likes to play Ramsey on the right sometimes), Joel would have had few opportunities to play. Perhaps just FA cup and League Cup. So I can understand Joel deciding to leave
I also don’t understand us keeping Sanogo
@Arsenal|_Girl
We can’t pawn him off on anyone at the moment…
I like JC, but he will NOT be a star for Arsenal like your title suggests. The reason for that is simple – he will be sold next summer. I don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors and why Wenger treats certain players the way he does, but it’s pretty much obvious that he doesn’t care much for Joel, and prefers his golden boys Ox, and Theo to him, even though personally I’d start him over those two 9 times out of 10.
Wenger treated Podolski badly too
At the time Podolski was our best finisher
Don’t understand how Wenger’s mind works
wenger didnt treat podolski badly.. that has always been a lie, podolski got enough games every year and yep he was our best finisher but last time i checked football and wingers/strikers had more to them than only finishing, of course its a good thing but podolski didn’t offer anything else than having a shot when the ball fell to him or came to him, this would have been okay would he have been a striker, but as a striker he never performed
@Arsenal_Girl
In all fairness though. Lukas P might have been a deadly finisher but, his overall game was lazy…He didn’t cut it as a lone striker. And dude had zero pace or defensive side to his game. At Fc Koln and Bayern, dude was a beast. By the time we got him, all he had left was that lethal left…
“Joel Campbell WILL be a star for Arsenal!”
I think we are way past that bridge now.
Even with the limited opportunities he’s had, Joel has done enough to show that he deserves more than what he’s got at Arsenal.
Many times, he’s shone where other traditional favorites have flopped big-time. Such a hard worker he is. Little wonder he is a fan-favorite.
Even, the fans have publicly advised him to “do the best thing” -to develop his career at another club where he can be given the chance he deserves.
Remember “go while you can, Joel!”? The rant at the train station at Stoke?
I’d be very surprised, if after considering all this Joel is still interested in coming back to seek for a “chance” to be a star at Arsenal.
Not sure about that statement! I for one love the guy his work ethic sets an example to some others that should know better, he far too comfortable brigade. One thing I noticed with Joel last year was his ability to play incisive defense splitting balls, the type of thing that only ozil and maybe Santi can see. He’s arsenal type player through and through and if we’d stuck with him and continued his game ime I’m sure his fitness and confidence would have increased to make him a great player for us. Why ox wasn’t loaned out instead is beyond me, Wenger protecting his home growns?
I like Campbell but I don’t know where these sentiments are coming from. How many appearances did Ox and Theo make respectively last season? Compare them to Campbell’s and you will realize the latter had his fair chances. He plays with great determination but to be honest to say he deserved more is unfortunate. We wish him well