According to Marca, Joel Campbell could be heading back to La Liga with Valencia apparently ready to sign the attacking midfielder on a permanent basis.
The Costa Rica international established himself as a regular in Arsene Wenger’s first team last season, scoring four goals in 31 appearances. At times he was picked ahead of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but appeared to fall out of favour in the run in as Alex Iwobi came to prominence.
For all his pace, trickery and willingness to put in a defensive shift, there’s always been an underlying suspicion that Arsene Wenger doesn’t really rate Campbell as a long-term option. As such, we’re not entirely surprised to hear that he could depart this summer…even if it would leave us further short of attacking options.
Campbell is under contract until 2018 meaning the Gunners could command a reasonable transfer fee while Valencia would be getting a man who knows all about Spanish football; the 24-year-old has previously played for Real Betis and Villarreal on loan, in addition to spells in France and Greece.
Pretty much confirms Theo is staying if Campbell leaves
Yeah it’s hard to figure Wenger’s thinking on this one.
Walcott just doesn’t offer any kind of consistent all-round performance. Campbell just works harder and is more creative.
Even financially, Theo must be on double what Joel’s on.
I can only think that Wenger sees more goals in Walcott
This really is one of the recent mysteries to me. When I first started supporting Arsenal, Walcott was my favorite player and I got his name on the first kit I ever bought. After the last 5 (6?) years of watching him, I have just lost faith. It’s such a strange one because Arsene seems to have lost faith in him many times along the way as well. He was sat on the bench for weeks this season even while others in the team struggled to score because he simply wasn’t trusted. But for some reason, he is the one… Read more »
A simple reason could be that – nobody wants to do us a favour and sign Walcott. I mean how many clubs you can think of that can afford the money we might want plus his wage demand and yet can’t find a better alternative?
Our only hope is a suddenly cash flush club like Westham or Everton wanting to make a splash. Beyond that non of the major English clubs will touch him and I don’t see him going to a foreign club as well.
Walcott’s English. He doesn’t compete with Campbell for a slot in the squad, he competes for one of the home-grown slots that can’t go to more talented foreign players.
If you sell Walcott you either have to promote a kid or sign a homegrown player to replace him. Walcott isn’t very good, but there arn’t a lot of homegrown players in his position who are better. And they’d cost way more than they should, precisely because they’re homegrown.
Well, pretty sound logic I would say. I think we all forget it time and again.
Not quite. Homegrown rule is more for restricting amount of foreign players than guaranteeing numbers of “home” players. We don’t nede to replace Walcott with a homegrown one if sold. But we might need to sell one foreigner to bring in another. That could be the case with JC.
Well of course you can sell Walcott and not replace him with anyone. But presumably no one wants that. The point is that if you sell Walcott that doesn’t free up another slot in your team for a foreigner – it frees up a slot for someone homegrown.
This is a novel idea. Get rid of someone whose work ethic way outstrips Walcotts and who puts a ton of effort into every shift (I reckon Arsen’s got him on a zero hour contract) and wh has even been known to score goals.
oh yeah. I really wonder what it is that Wenger has on Campbell. Seemed promising and eager. Pretty much the opposite to Theo.
Really like Campbell and would love to see him in the lineup more, but if Wenger continues to bury him on the bench (or not even have him on the bench) for some unknown reason (as he did last year in the run in) then for his sake I hope he can be sold and go somewhere he will be able to play. Plus we might as will get something for him now while he still has value. It’s a shame though as he did very well with the opportunities given last year, but for some reason wasn’t enough to… Read more »
Would be such a shame to see him go. Granted he’s no superstar but plays with verve and enthusiasm when called upon. The team needs more guys like Campbell!
I think this is just gossip.
He’s a good young player that had a good 1st season and will hopefully ‘kick on’ in the coming season.
and he defends really well when put on the wing. It’s underrated how important that is. You can’t have Ozil and Sanchez in the lineup without a winger on the opposite side that can help out defensively.
The poo o metre says it all
Why are we selling a wide-forward when we are so short? Our transfer strategy is brainless or nonexistent.
Will miss Joel, I was one of the few who rated him before his excellent spell last season. Will fondly remember his performance vs Olympiakos and THAT pass to Giroud.
https://streamable.com/vgzk
Still amazed at how little credit he received for that piece of skill. Well, I’m sure he will be rightly lauded in Valencia.
Cazorla, Ramsey, Walcott, Wilshere, Ozil, Alexis, Iwobi are all players who can play in the wide position. We’re not short. If anything, we have too many.
The only one of them I would prefer to Joel is Alexis and maybe Iwobi in a couple of seasons. Because to the rest is either poor (talking to you, Theo) or way more effective on other positions.
Campbell is actually a striker who can play wide.
We’re definitely short on forward options.
But don’t worry, Wenger will never let go of Theo.
He’s a good ‘secondary’ striker and winger but He’s not a PL level CF.
Out of those, Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere, and Ozil are, to some extent, wasted out wide. That leaves us with one superstar, one brilliant/completely useless player depending on the day, and one youngster. Not exactly a laundry list of talent.
They are wasted but it does not mean they cannot play there. I’m not saying that we have an abundance of players therefore we don’t need reinforcements, but it’s not like our flanks will suffer if he leaves. We have others who can play there. Especially with the size of our midfield.
You’re talking like it was a done deal.
My first instinct was to post a link to that pass! That was pure quality, at a time when we really needed a bit of inspiration.
If we sell him I’ll be a little sad but will wish him all the best. Hard to judge Wenger’s decision making until the window is shut.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Some of his incisive passing was almost, dare I say, Ozil-ish. Obviously there’s a big gap between the two in consistency and overall technical level (read: please don’t try to criticize me for trying to tell you Campbell is as good as Ozil) but he had some pretty decent vision out there.
Shame, he is everything that Theo isn’t
If this becomes factually accurate it doesn’t make it right 🙁
If he knows what’s best for him then he should leave. Wenger will always rate the HG-players ahead of him and if he is to develop as a player he needs to play regulary in a team for more then a season.
To bad though he really looked like a promising player.
This is one player I wish the very best for.
Its shameful how he’s been treated by Wenger as he’s always looked a tidy player when given minutes and often out performed Wenger’s other little pets like Walcott and Ox.
As someone has pointed above, unfortunately, the other players in his position – Walcott, Ox and Ramsey (well, we do play him there) – are all British. We can’t let them go, can we now? It’s much more difficult to upgrade on a British player than on a foreign one.
If Campbell goes, another winger is an imperative. Sanchez, Iwobi, Ox? Who else is there? I hope this means we get a winger playmaker, all the transfer talk seems to be about them… Arda Turan, Mkhitarian, Draxler, Perišič were all connected, but it’s hard to say how much of the transfer talk is pure bullshit.
Actually it’s very easy to say how much of the transfer talk is pure bullshit – all of it is.
Idiotic move given a run of ten or so games I can see him flourishing in a good team. They say you dont know what you have till its gone and thet certainly applied to him when I heard this news. I see him developing very nicely for whomever he plays for next season.
Fully agree with you there buddy. If he got 1/4 of support and belief from Wenger, we would have a world class player here. He has actually done wonders this season while not being certain of Wenger’s view on him. I believe that Campbell is really on the rise and will flourish in another club where he will be appreciated. He has all attributes needed to succeed, both talent, physique and most of all he seems like a humble guy ready to give his all each time he puts on the shirt. This is really an atrocious move by Wenger,… Read more »
So you think there’s some truth to the rumour?
I rate Campbell, Whenever he came on he made stuff happen. And to a fan when you have spent 70 minutes watching your team pass the ball sideways without nothing really happening then you appreciate someobe like Campbell whos not afraid to run straight at the defence and take them on often successfully and making Shit happen. How Wenger can rate Walcott more than Campbell is beyond me. Sure Walcott comes in to his own whenever we play high risk teams who leave alot of room open behind their backline, But that allmost never happen except for maybe 2-3 games… Read more »
I do not know why people insist that a player with tremendous pace like Theo (I am not saying Theo himself, necessarily) is valueless when the opponent sits in. Intelligent runs open space, no matter how deep the back four and how close to them the midfield. Speaking only of England: think of Luis Suarez for Liverpool (or for that matter, Torres in his best years), think of Vardy during the run-in last season (after opponents took Leicester seriously). And I vaguely remember some French guy who used to play for us.
The He keeps Walcott and gets rid of Campbell…..right-ho.
If this turns out to be true, it pretty much shows that Wenger has completely lost it. Campbell rates higher than Walcott for sure, and possibly a few others. Not sure what else he has to do to prove himself. Wenger has completely lost it, if true.
The reason Wenger may prefer to keep the likes of Walcott/The Ox is because they are homegrown, and we need to meet the quota. The only way I could have seen Walcott being sold was if we had signed Vardy
The way Wenger shows so much loyalty to his favourites such as Walcott, yet totally disregards Campbell is a joke. Campbell showed more heart in a handful of appearances than Theo Walcott has in ten years at Arsenal, yet Wenger decides to keep Theo and get rid of Campbell. Beyond frustrated with this, he gives the same players chance after chance, yet others he totally dismisses. I just hope the Ox finally steps up to justify Wenger’s faith in him but been wishing that for the three years now. If he can find consistency and stay injury free be a… Read more »
Many comments Walcott here are gross, inaccurate. very unkind and unprofitable to Walcott. Campbell does not have a bigger heart and passion for Arsenal than Walcott, Wilshire, Gibbs or any other player. Walcott does not make any decision regarding the sake or purchase of any player so why malign and atrack him here? Some Arsenal fans contribute badly to demotivating our players with their cruelty.
Buddy, have you been watching Walcott in some parallel universe? There is no player that had so much goodwill within Arsenal fanbasw, it goes right to the level of Cesc, Ramsey, Wilshere etc. and all of is wanted him to succeed. He is the master of his own undoing, and that escape from a challenge at the end of the season was a final nail in the coffin of his Arsenal career for many, including me. All criticism he received is more than justified, as he has only played well when he fought for a new fat contract. Having in… Read more »
I think this could be the ‘Pogba Error’ of Arsenal. Really sad to see him leave, if this happens. He plays with heart, which is more than I can say for most of our other players.
Pogba error? Excellent, you said it all with a few words my friend, I fully agree.
Im not being sarcastic but between Campbell and Arsene (nope not walcott/Ox) Id choose the former. Id bet my life savings or my life Arsenal wont be winning another title under his “supervision”
let that 2004 be history and “finally” move on, forward.
70 minutes gone in a game and we need a goal/ something to happen. You look at the bench and have the choice of Walcott or Campbell. For me, it would be Campbell every time, but I guess that’s why I don’t get paid £7m a year
£8mil.
Walcott is staying while quality plays are leaving, something is dreadfully wrong at Arsenal.
For me it goes back to 2008 or so. Almunia is made 1st choice goalkeeper and Gilberto Silva, Lasanna Diarra and Flamini are all out the door within six months without adequate replacement. People say the stadium, loans to pay, etc. but how much does a better GK than Almunia cost in 2008 ? 3 mil tops ?
Don’t go Joel, ah man…
Still can’t figure out why Le Prof doesn’t rate him much. Campbell was throw in the deep end last season and swam his socks off, and then for some reason things changed and we saw Theo chosen ahead of him. I don’t want him to leave, certainly not before Theo.
Gutted to see him leave. I obviously don’t see him in training every day, but based on performances, I think Wenger has treated him badly. He seemed happy and willing to be a squad player and that’s just what we need. But if a squad player is playing well, you dont drop him as soon as one of your favourites is fit. It should be meritocracy, unless it’s a player aguero or Messi taking his place
I really hope this doesn’t happen. I just don’t understand Arsene Wenger sometimes. i mean, what the fuck did we go to all the trouble getting him for in the first place? Did he not show his quality last season with the opportunities he received? Anyway, he’s a fav of mine and I really hope this rumor is volcanic diahrrea. But if Arsene is going to insist on playing Iwobi and Ox ahead of him then he might as well go. I hate it for him
“At times he was picked ahead of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain” Actually the very oppposite. Wenger only ever played him if those 2 weren’t available, and no matter how well he played, as soon as either of them were fit, he dropped him. FFS last season the boy scored almost as much as OX has in his total 5 years at arsenal, and still wouldn’t get a look in. Utterly disappointed in this news. In the absence of further purchases and acceptance that our season is gonna be a repeat of last one, I was hoping to gain my… Read more »
If Joel Campbell leaves and we don’t sign another wide forward then we can only hope Ox has a phenomenal, injury-free season.
As we hoped last season.
And the season before.
And the season before.
AND the season before.
AAAAAAAND the season before that too.
And even when fit, Ox still has a problem of end product.
Such a shame he was really coming to the fore
Sadly for us if it’s between Joel and Walcott no one will take on Walcotts wages so we’re stuck with him!
I hope we inset a buy back clause
Good point. I totally agree with everyone here that Campbell should be preferred to Walcott, and it doesn’t make sense to me that a) Wenger rates Campbell so little, and b) he actually chose to bring Walcott on late in games last season when we were desperate for a goal against packed defenses, leaving Joel on the bench. However, one thing people seem to be missing is that Joel will be easy to sell (young and talented, and won’t cost too much money in transfer fee or wages), whereas Theo will be very, very hard to sell. Consider: I think… Read more »
Maybe so, but why not play Campbell who plays his heart out every time he wears the shirt?
We sold off Carlos vela and now we are selling Joel Campbell but through all this we are keeping walcott a player who only cares right before its time to renew his contract?? That’s very bright I say
Would be a good move for Campbell. Valencia are a big club but not too big and he could thrive there. Still, I’d rather he stayed. Although he’s not a world beater he’s an excellent player and, more importantly, a hard worker. Would be disappointed to see him go. He deserved more of a sustained run in the team last season. He was one of only five truly consistent performers. The others being Cech, Ozil, Monreal and Bellerin.
From the outside this looks like a serious mistake – especially as it looks possible that we may come up short in the hunt for a new striker. I would far rather see us cut Walcott loose.
Imagine people talking about Vela, Walcott is not an alternative to Campbell or any other player. Thank God, Wenger is not a manager that gets help from the media to run his team like Hodgson. All our first team HG players are great players often maligned and abused by British press now we have some fans follow suit here.
The reason we’re getting rid of Campbell is because we can’t get rid of Walcott. No one will match his wages or pay the inflated English transfer premium for him.
Right.
If I was Arsene I’d offer to chip in 40-60k wages, just to be rid of him.
Too inconsistent, and it sends a message to the team and wider public about playing footballers who can contribute on a consistent basis (aka keep Campbell)
Has more goals and assists per 90 than Ramsey and Walcott and works hard on defense. Would be a loss
Why was this downvoted? lol
🙂
Pity. He was starting to show his promise. But like the ‘ruthlessness’. Plenty of push on the other flank to Alexis. Ox is a potentially excellent player and Iwobi also starting to shine. Gnabry will also start to push into the squad. Whether we keep Walcott is uncertain but certainly there has been little interest to pay the exorbitant wages his own by others in the market. Maybe we could bring in Draxler too who can then be primed for the CF role if Wolfsburg and Wenger can come down to the right price level. Valencia will be good for… Read more »
Question: this thing I keep reading about Draxler being converted to a striker, where does it come from? What is it based on? He is great if inconsistent, and two-footed, but he is an attacking midfielder through and through, like so many others. Interestingly, of all the options in the German national squad who have been tried out as (false) 9s in a desperate search for an alternative solution to Klose/Gomez, Draxler is pretty much the only one (!) who has never been tried there. So I am intrigued but puzzled – what makes you think Draxler could magically become… Read more »
Agree. It seems like a stretch – & more in the realm of wishful thinking than potential. But latest word is that Wolfsburg aren’t letting him go so a moot question now I guess.
Ruthlessness would be selling Theo and loaning the Ox out on a last chance saloon, not potentially selling a player who out performed both of them last season and never complained once when dropped.
This is one of those times when I wish there was someone above Wenger in a position to say “stop right there, wtf are you thinking …”
Maybe its good news, I can’t see Wenger selling Campbell unless there is an upgrade lined up.
This is ridiculous, honestly, I hope it’s not true,
He tracks back, can pick a pass and has some goals in him.
Let him and Chamberlain duke it out for the right wing berth (Yes- sell Walcott)
We’re overstocked in central midfield, but I don’t see Ramsey as a winger/inside forward.
I still can’t understand why Campbell didn’t get more game time last season, he lacks the penetrative abilities of Walcott but is far more consistent and can improve in the future.
Will be gutted if this is true… many times money’s worth and better player than the overrated Ozil. Joel would rake in more assists than Ozil, provided he gets the opportunities…!!
I can understand comparing him to Walcott, but Ozil?? Not even close. Not to mention they don’t even play the same position.
I am not talking about positions, I am implying value for money and effectiveness. Besides, Joel gives 100% everytime, back tracks, dribbles well… and not just jog around with drooping shoulders, which unfortunately has a negative impact on the rest of the team, particularly considering that he is supposed to be the best in this business… obviously expect a lot of down-votes for my views, but truth IS…
Joel has been exemplary and has given nothing less than 100% when given the chance to play. Perhaps, one should ask Giroud.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160715/pictures-wilshere-and-campbell-train
Of course the pacifier is reported as back in training with Lightning Jack.
So until there is a firm bid…
And worth noting players are coming back into training so this nonsense that we will be short of players start of season…as mentioned if need be they will be recalled early…they aren’t exactly going to turn into trees on ‘holiday’ or Marlon Brando.:D
? No………!!!!
This is ridiculous if true. He is a really good player. I would be more hurt than when Fabregas left.
I doubt this happens unless Wenger has someone already signed a player to replace him. This is Arsenal. We know an injury free season would be nothing short of a miracle. Wenger may not rate Joel but he has to keep him to add some depth.
As a Costa Rican myself I hope whether Arsenal keeps him or transfers him to another club the most important thing is that he gets minutes on the pitch so he is the rythm of playing when he comes home to play on the national team. I believe Arsenal has had a ample amount of time to figure out if he is of value to them or not. They have had his rightsfor many years now and have loaned him out 3 times. They finally gave him some minutes last year and I believe he showed well and they should… Read more »
I’ll miss Joel, but if this goes ahead we should show our ambition and sign Mahrez. That would be a great step up.
Although I wasn’t disappointed about the Vardy deal falling through, I am getting twitchy about forward signings too. I wish we’d just go and sign Higuain and I’d go for Vietto too.
Forget Arsenal winning the lge next season (again). Simply not happening. Please pull me up on this if it happens but I just can’t see it.
Campbell deserves a place on the team. I believe he has such potential and isn’t afraid to take on a few players. Yes he may lose the ball from time to time doing step overs but this guys put in a defensive shift. No doubt he will do good wherever he goes