Joel Campbell has dismissed rumours of a departure from the Arsenal, and says he’s ready to fight for his place in the team.
The Costa Rican forward has been linked with a move to Valencia in recent days, but was one of the stand-out performers last season and he seems determined to continue his career in North London.
Speaking on his official website about links to the La Liga club, he said, “There are always rumours, but I don’t talk about those things. I focus on doing my thing, which is to train day to day, to fight and to try to give my best.”
Campbell arrived back in London last week, and he’s in the mood to convince Arsene Wenger he’s worthy of his place.
“I have had a good holiday and now I am happy to train, to return strong, to prepare myself well in this preseason for the new campaign for which I have high expectations and I will fight with everything to have the opportunity to play and to show what I can give,” he said.
“Last season was my first full season with the team from start to finish and to me it was a very productive time.
“I played 30 games and that was very important for me and made me mature a lot. I could show what I’m made of, and at last the team and the fans were happy with what I have done.”
At a time when we’re already short of forward options, selling anyone seems daft, and certainly Campbell has shown that he’s more than capable of producing. Let’s hope he can kick on this season.
By far our most reliable and consistent performer at RW. I’d love to see Joel play regularly for us.
He’s saying and doing everything right. So far he’s better than some guys Wenger has kept faith in for years. Trying to figure out why he isn’t getting the playing time gives me a headache…
He’s so limited going forward though. I loved campbell but since last season I’ve grown really frustrated with his inability or unwillingness to get into scoring positions.
He has skill and talent, but he refuses to get into the box and usually hangs back (on fast breaks and otherwise).
He also doesn’t have a ton of power and strength (or at least isn’t showing it).
With his hustle and awareness, he’s morphed into an Eboue-type winger, one we can count on position ally and technically but doesn’t offer enough in the final third.
My two cents.
i actually totally agree with this. it seems he has the ability to be a better player but he doesnt take enough risks.
i know people keep calling for him to be played more, but review his last season matches closely. he tends to prefer to play it safe, doesnt really get forward, doesnt take on players that much which is why i believe wenger doesnt start him as often as his ability warrants.
our attack his wing is “mostly”blunted when he plays
Do you both think the manager’s clear lack of interest in him and therefore the possibility of being dropped at the first opportunity might have something to do with some of the points you’ve made?
I’ve grown more fond of Joel in one season, than I have of Theo in ten. Hard work goes a long way
Great comment, so true. Campbell also doesn’t jump out of the way of tackles…
I still think we need to keep Theo because we have almost no depth up top with Welbeck out most of the season again.
All the best to him. Definitely can’t fault his attitude
Surely he won’t have to fight his place next year as Wenger be no more cuz the lad by far surpasses Walcott and the Ox easily.
This is good news.
Its not players ahead of him he needs to fight against. Its the mighty tide of a decision Wenger has already made in his head. Good luck to him!
It’s funny how he has to keep denying rumours about him leaving, seems a bit of a theme for him. Anyways glad to have him, think he will have a big season
Would be nice to see him be given a fair chance this season. I’d be very happy with Iwobi and Campbell as our wide players to start the season until the players return that played in the Euros. Of course would be nice if we could sign a top level wing player like Mahrez ,but doubt that will happen.
Good to know. He will be very useful, especially at the early stage of the season.
Decent squad player but need better in the first eleven. Campbell not yet good enough and we should be aiming for better starters. No point letting go unless we have replacements.
Did pretty well playing as a striker for Costa Rica in the world cup maybe he could be given more chances playing up front
I’ve been pushing for this for s while now. Between the choice of testing out Theo again as a striker in the preseason, or Campbell (who’s younger yet has more experience than Theo as a striker) as a striker, I’ll obviously go for the latter. Campbell is just as fast, much harder worker, technically better, can actually dribble and beat a man, can actually drop deep and get involved with passing play, a lot more creative and really good at making deft through ball passes, and we know he’s a good finisher (we just don’t know how consistently of a… Read more »
As fast Walcott?
*as fast as
No, definitely not. Theo, Ox, Welbeck all quicker than Joel. But he’s a harder worker, better heads-up play, and calmer on the ball than the first two and less injuries than the first three.
He’s been able to pick out some quite good passes for us as well. More playmaker ability than the first two for sure. Ox is more electric and runs at defenders more, but Campbell thus far has been more effective (and healthy).
Unfortunately, recently, Ox seems to have learned Theo’s trick of running INTO defenders, rather than AT them.
Joel is pretty damn fast.
And not sure how much can people have noticed but though Theo is still very fast, he’s clearly lost a step since his injury, which is expected.
Faster than Giroud!!
Faster than Theo , are you kidding ??? Has everyone forgotten how good Theo was a few seasons back when he bagged 26 goals ??? So the guy has had a bad last season , get off hos back and with his confidence buzzing again he could be our 30 goal a season player ( and before you say he isn’t a centre forward, neither is Messi or Ronaldo ) he has everything, his movement is the best at the club , hos 1 on 1 is as good as anyone and he knows how to finish. All you boo… Read more »
Where do I or anyone say he was faster?
he is not a centre forward and he is not messi and/or ronaldo.
Captain Obvious to the rescue!
If the PL teams played against us in a similar fashion to teams they played against in the World Cup then he’d be worth taking a chance on now, but they don’t. He may learn to time his runs better and to hold the ball better (especially back to goal), so we can give him a go at CF but IMO at the moment he’d be a decent secondary striker and left winger but a better right winger.
I think Joel’s talent’s would be wasted as a centre forward given our current formation. He’s energetic, good on the ball at pace facing goal and can pick out a pass, in particulate a reverse pass. Worth experimenting pre season or in the cups, but I think we’d lose a lot of his game playing him up top on his own.
If you’re honest about the way he plays then you have to say he rarely gets himself into scoring positions and hangs back outside the box way too often.
He also isn’t direct enough and it’s frustrating. He could do so much more, but he has some mental block that’s been affecting his confidence.
I appreciate his effort and technique and tackling ability. But we need more and players like Iwobi and Ox offer more.
Including Ox discredits your post. Seriously, how much of a free pass does Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain get? He is a player with little game sense, and is simply not thrown out for the same reason as Wilshere and Theo – too much has been invested in them, and Wenger is infuriatingly and admirably loyal.
Keep Campbell sell walcot….
That’s assuming there is a buyer.
Best bit of Arsenal related news for a while. He’s a very good player in my rarely humble opinion.
Sell Theo and keep Joel..simples
Get in while you can Joel
Maybe at the shareholder meeting someone just flat out ask Wenger why Theo and not Joel?
I would say that 80% of the Arsenal fans want Campbell to stay and take Theo’s place.
Let Ox have another season and then make a decision but Theo’s time is up.
If he can start directly creating/scoring goals more consistently, it’ll be hard for anyone to justify his sale away from the club.
I really f*cking love this guy and wish Arsene did too.
Such a great attitude. I hope he gets the chances he deserves this season.
With pretty much 1 fit non-scoring, money moaning, actually a wide player not a striker, striker fit, he hasn’t exactly got much competition right now.
Wow. This guy’s attitude is absolutely amazing. Never gives up no matter what. Wenger’s treatment of Campbell is absolutely baffling. He seems to prefer mentally weak players like Theo who really needs to go now
Good news
Get in there Joel! I don’t want to have to change my name here…
Flippin’ love your attitude mate.
I pray to Magneto that this is true. Maybe we should all start tweeting the official account saying how much we love him. They would have to reconsider.
Some of his passing was sublime. If TR7 or Santi had made that through ball vs Olympiakos or for Sanchez we’d have been jizzing about them for ages.
Tweet Arsenal with #lovecampbell or #staycampbell.
@ Super Joshi – I’ll see what I can do! 🙂
Campbell is good, we all love him for his contribution to last season, but he is not good enough to be the starting RW on a side with the supposed ambitions of Arsenal. He would be a reliable backup and nothing more. Let’s call it what it is.
Given the squad we’ve got, he’s certainly good enough for the starting eleven. If you’re suggesting he’s not good enough for the fantasy squad you believe we ought to have fair enough but as it stands, he’s more than good enough. Doubt you’ll witness Joel jumping out of tackles and that alone puts him a million miles in front of Theo.
I think Wenger’s issue with Campbell isn’t so much with Campbell himself. It’s the balance of the team. Wenger likes to have one player who likes to run in behind. He doesn’t get that with Giroud, so it has to be one of the wide players. Sanchez prefers to pick up the ball deep and run with it. Campbell is basically the same. So when you have all those guys in the team you have the too many cooks problem. I am not saying it really makes sense – when your go-to guy for running in behind sucks, it’s probably… Read more »
This.
Great attitude and is the reason why he should be ahead of Wally!
I have a theory that in some (not all) games that we may try playing a more 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation. We have the players to go back to playing a similar way to 1998 when we had a midfield which could operate as a 4 with 2 wide men (Overmars and Parlour) or shift slightly to a 3 with Petit, PV4 and Parlour tucked in…with Overmars given license to go forward and not track back. If we had a centre midfield of any 2 of Le Coq, Xhaka or El Neny and Ramsey playing the Parlour role from the… Read more »
Fact is bar Alexis we have average/piss poor finishers. That’s what this team lacks. Killer instinct. Doesn’t matter if we play 4-4-2 or whatever, it still will not address our lack of killer instinct and frankly piss poor finishing at times.
too many repetitions, mate. piss poor killer instinct.
So you’re benching Ozil for the second variation of your formation? Makes sense, it really does… not.
All those who deride Wenger’s acumen both in market and in development…
None predicted Bellerin will step up for the departing Sagna, many were bleating on about Jenkinson.
None gave Coquelin a chance. Many said “Get Out While you Can”
None said Campbell would come through , most said he would not be “Arsenal Quality”.
None predicted or even heard of Iwobi in the youth ranks.
Think you know better?;)
Wager himself said he’d dismissed Coquelin and even had him behind Flamini.
Let’s not forget he chose Frimpong over him. It was fortune through injuries that gave Coq his chance. Same with Campbell, who at every given second seemed to be behind Theo and Ox no matter what.
Let’s not pretend that some of those breakthroughs were planned.
Prior to his knee (ACL?) injury Frimpong was very impressive, but he still only played in the 11/12 season over Coquelin because Coquelin had some injury problems (Thigh IIRC).
Miles better than Theo last season & he deserves to stay. Not only did he show lots of heart, but he became Prince of the through balls under the guidance of our dear King Ozil.
Now go & sign up Mahrez to add to the mix please Arsene… & a beastly centre back!
Watch wenger sell him and buy no one …
Love his touches!!
All you walcott haters, the bad news is walcot is staying. Presently no one matches the 3 quality he has ; instinct scorer, running behind defence, timing. Assistant ref, u made a valid point. But u finally spoiled t. when none of your players can run behind defense, you destroy creativity by the midfielders. All you will be seeing is after working the ball to edge of box 18, it will be worked back as no movement behind defence or what you will see is a blind and wasted shot. The player running behind defence must not necessary be at… Read more »
I don’t know if he sent you gifts or something, but I am not even reading the whole of your post. I stopped at instinct scorer. Please.
Walcott is a streaky player, with limited quality and no consistency. For me, he sucks.
Joel Campbell is one hard worker whom I would love to see holding down a regular spot in the new season.
Prove ’em wrong, JC!
Get in there joel
Can’t understand why Joel hasn’t dyed his hair blond and grown a beard. Don’t think he’s committed to the team.
I enjoyed watching him last season and in my opinion warranted more starts than he got. I understand commenters’ opinions that we should be looking for a better right sided attacker but surely the last season and the Euros proved that basics such as application, hard work and organisation can be more important than individual talent. Saying that, he’s a very talented player but not particularly star-worthy!
I have a lot of time for Joel. At times last season he showed some real class (Olympiakos away springs instantly to mind) and he works.
Ox has the bigger reputation but this far for me Campbell has shown more quality. Not saying it’s not going to happen for the Ox, but take away reputation and spin and for me if you’re going to keep chamberlain you have to keep Joel. He’s a young man remember who has been shunted about all over Europe recently.
I feel there’s more to come from him.
It was ramsey and iwobi that actually benches campbell, not walcott. campbell has a great work to compete with these men plus wilshere. walcott will battle it out with giroud and our new top top striker