Arsenal have gained the defender Gabriel from Villarreal, but an unexpected benefit is that we have sent Joel Campbell to a top-ish team in Spain to gain some more top-class first team experience.
The 22-year-old has already played for his new club on Thursday as they beat Getafe 1-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Copa Del Rey and will hopefully carry on playing regularly.
Wenger admitted that the Costa Rican star would have found it difficult to play if he remained at Arsenal. “Joel has extended his contract so he will go to Villarreal and he needed games.” Le Prof said on Arsenal.com. “Here it was a bit obstructed for him because there were too many players in the same position,”
“After six months, he worked very hard every day and didn’t get enough chances to play, so I wanted to give him a chance to continue to get experience at the top level.”
Campbell got a few chances early on in the season, but it was obvious that Wenger lost confidence in him and refused to give him any more concrete chances even when we were decimated by injuries. Hopefully back in Spain, he can re-find his scoring boots and start impressing Wenger again in readiness for next season….
Campbell said: “I’m very happy to be here and playing in La Liga. It’s a great chance for me to do well in the second half of the season.
“Playing in Spain is certainly special. I was lucky enough to play with Real Betis and now I’ve got the opportunity again with Villarreal.
“I’m ready to work hard and I hope things turn out well. My head is at Villarreal and I’m determined to prove my worth here.”
Good Luck Joel!