Tag Archives: Arsenal

Joel Campbell’s Arsenal return

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“Joel Campbell did it again” was the headline news from the mid-week international’s involving Arsenal players as the 21 year old Costa Rican scored another screamer against Paraguay.

Following up on his goal against Manchester United in the Champions League, Campbell’s stock has risen over the last week or so, getting to a point where Arsenal fans are :

a) wondering why we loaned him out again and;
b) getting excited over what the future holds.

Joel Campbell got his work permit last summer. The decision to loan him out to Olympiakos was more to do with Arsene Wenger hoping to get a potential buyer for him rather than gain further experience.

Campbell had failed to impress. Two fairly limp loan spells at Lorient & Real Betis, alongside a reported poor attitude in Arsenal training and a shocking dive against the USA in 2013 seemed to mark him out as the type of personality we did not need at the club.

In summer 2013, he was certainly surplus to requirements. with Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky and the emerging Serge Gnabry set to battle it out on the wings, it would have been hard for anyone to justify him staying with the club. We were so well set for wide men that Gervinho was sold on and no replacement bought in.

The game time he could have potentially had went to Serge Gnabry. 4 years younger and a lot more talented, with a much better attitude. Joel Campbell would have struggled to get a single minute.

Hindsight makes football a much easier game. We see it with transfers (Why didn’t we sign Yaya Toure? Why did we pick Diaby over him? Why did we drop Higuain for Suarez?), with tactics and throughout the game. But the problem is, unless you a Mystic Meg, you do not know how things are going to turn out. Football is impossible to predict (unless you are predicting an injury for Diaby, or the good form of Rosicky at contract renewal time).

In hindsight, we should have held on to Joel Campbell. With injuries to both Theo Walcott and Oxlade Chamberlain, the team has, at times, lacked pace. Add in the injury to Yaya Sanogo (which was perhaps a bit more predictable), we have lacked a lot upfront. Joel Campbell certainly could have added to the squad this season. But like I said, hindsight and football.

As for the future, I would still be very surprised if he does return to Arsenal. Firstly, we have effectively bombed him out of the club. Loaning him out to Olympiakos, Arsenal also gave them an option to buy, reportedly around £6.5million. This would have made it clear to all and sundry that Arsenal no longer required his services.

So what can arsenal do now? If they want him back, they will have to offer him a new contract. Whilst Olympiakos have an option to buy, Joel Campbell does not have to move if he does not want to. We offer him a larger contract than them, there is a possibility he will then reject Olympiakos and remain with us.

Even if he wants to stay with Arsenal, I would still not be surprised if Arsenal do not want him. A couple of high profile goals is not usually enough to sway Arsene Wenger’s opinion on a player, who tends to look at the longer term picture.

Ahead of Joel Campbell in the squad are still the aforemention players. Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky and Serge Gnabry. With Arsenal likely to add Julian Draxler and a new striker to the squad, Campbell will be pushed further down the pecking order. At best he will be 7th choice winger and 4th choice striker. A situation that no professional football would want to be in. He would still be surplus to requirements.

A player we signed for €1 million who we then sell 3 years later for €8 million, without said player playing a game for us would be a good deal and a significant profit.

It is fairly clear that Joel Campbell is still surplus to requirements. Whilst money is not an issue to Arsenal, I would rather we pocket the £6 million and use that money to re-inforce the defence, where it is likely we will need at least 3 players with Sagna & Vermaelen also set to leave.

Joel Campbell, you have had an excellent couple of weeks, but that does not make you good enough for a place in the Arsenal squad.

Keenos

The Arsenal and Me – Shan’s Story

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Well how I became an Arsenal fan was by chance, and mostly because of Arsenal’s superiority over Spurs. My Dad in his younger years took an interest in Spurs and subsequently adopted them as his team, my Mum on the other hand, who’d been brought up mostly in North London took a page out of her brothers’ book and became a fan of the Arsenal. So in my younger years; I believe I was about 3-4, a few days before the North London derby at dinner my parents were having a squabble debating who I supported, and in my wisdom I suggested whoever wins that North London Derby I was to support. Well obviously Arsenal won it and I became a gooner, much to my Dad’s dismay. Quite ironically before this, I didn’t have much of an interest in supporting a football team, I enjoyed playing the sport with friends but after that day I fell in love with Arsenal.

I spent quite a while away from London, my family relocated to Kenya in 2002 for a period of 6 years. One quite brilliant story was that the headmaster at my primary school was a Spurs fan, and with him and my Dad being mates I cheekily suggested as an 8 year old boy that I make another bet on the North London Derby during the 02/03 season that if Arsenal would win he’d have to buy me and my sisters (I have 2) ice creams from the school cafeteria, and if Spurs were to win I’d have to write a short essay. Arsenal won with Thierry Henry scoring THAT solo goal and I was that much happier scoffing down some ice-cream. My time in Kenya also brought me my first and and last tear from football, both against Chelsea. First was during the Unbeaten season when we were knocked out of the Champions League undeservedly through Wayne Bridge’s goal, second was during the final season at Highbury when Chelsea beat us 2-0 at home. 

My first game was reasonably late considering I had lived in London, it was Newcastle on the first day of the final season at Highbury. I was seated in the North Bank next to my cousin, I had a Thierry Henry shirt on my back and I felt like nothing could go wrong and Mr. Henry did not disappoint. We won the match 2-0 through an Henry penalty and a late Van Persie goal, I was over the moon, the atmosphere was electric and it’s one thing hearing songs sung on the tele, but to be in the middle of 38, 000 fans singing was something quite incredible. An experience I’ll always treasure. I was quite the tourist at that point, forcing my Spurs supporting Dad to take me to Highbury just to see what it was like in other parts of the stadium, inside the marble halls and whatnot; I was not dissapointed. I only wish I was able to see more games at Highbury because the atmosphere felt that day I’ve not felt on many occasions at the Emirates.

My next visit to the UK from Kenya brought me my first game at the Emirates, a cold winters game against Blackburn Rovers. We smashed them 6-2 and I remember seeing Cesc Fabregas absolutely destroy Robbie Savage in the corner leading to a Flamini goal (although it should have been Cesc’s). During that visit I even managed to go on a stadium tour of the Emirates and met Charlie George and spotted our now assistant manager Steve Bould; these were all quite riveting when you’re a young boy living in Africa.

When I finally did come back to live in London in August 2008, I was truly excited, finally I’d have the opportunity to watch the Arsenal on occasions at the Emirates. Although, during that season I did witness my first loss at the Emirates, a stale 1-2 loss to Hull City with Geovanni scoring one of the best goals I’ve seen live. I saw a few more games that season, including Eduardo’s beach-volley against Burnley, a player who I truly wish was able to carve more of a career for himself at the Arsenal (we could do with him now). The following season, I went to my first North London Derby as a birthday present from my Aunt. That was quite possibly the best I’ve ever felt the Emirates stadium. Spurs were bigging themselves up as they always do  thinking that ‘this was their year’. I remember this game so vividly I can remember Bac crossing it to Van Persie for our first goal, after the goal I dropped my programme on the floor as they were kicking off, a second later, I look up and I see Cesc poking the ball through Ledley (not so much of a) King’s legs for our second. That has to be my favourite goal I’ve ever seen, truly amazing. Van Persie later wrapped up the game with the final score being 3-0. Walking back to the station after that was an amazing experience in it’s own right, the Spurs fans looking dejected and the Arsenal fans chanting ‘Red Army’: 10/10.

Since then I go to about 10-15 home games a year, school permitting. I’ve seen us lose to the likes of Swansea, Spurs and have a major fuck-up against Liverpool (Eboue), but one of my favourite moments of all time was seeing Thierry Henry pull the Red and White jersey back on. Henry was, and is my favourite player, I modelled my game on him (albeit poorly); I was more of a work horse midfielder than a striker, but nonetheless he is my idol. So when he did come back I was able to see him play against Blackburn Rovers and score his final goal at the Emirates, although it was classed as an own goal, I still hold in my heart that it was his.

My support of Arsenal on the whole is undying, being quite young I’ve eagerly saved money during the summer before every season and bought the Home and Away shirts. Since i’ve done that I’ve acquired an Arsenal shirt collection of 25, and growing. My favourite shirt being our latest away one; everything about it is right. Although supporting Arsenal since 2005 has been difficult, our injury luck is beyond shit and our squad depth, poor mentality and shit players have cost us majorly during that time. That being said, I have always been firmly behind Wenger (besides the Bradford loss, after that I thought he and Gervinho could fuck right off), and I do think good times are on the horizon. There is something special about this team, we have solid back four, an in-form keeper, the best midfield in the premiership and a beautiful Frenchman leading the line. To me, that sounds a little like the Arsenal of old…

Shan

Highbury Classics Volume 3 – The day when Arsenal played France

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Last week I was running a coaching session for children and put them into a small sided game. One team were given orange bibs and named Holland. The other set of bibs were coloured pink so I thought – Juventus (who else wears pink?!).

One kid noted, ‘but league teams don’t play international teams’. Fair point but then I thought; there was that time when France came to Highbury for a friendly in the 1988-89 season. The kids were fascinated to learn that this once happened, as well as being confused with one kid pointing out “But Arsenal have so many French players how does that work?”Arsenal v France

Of course in 1989 we had no Frenchmen in the squad. Our sole overseas players were Ireland’s David O’Leary and Niall Quinn. Every other player was eligible to play for England.

It’s my understanding that this game came about because France were playing Scotland in a vital World Cup qualifier and wanted some experience against a British team. From our point of view it was a game worth playing because we had no European football due to the ban on English clubs between 1985 and 1990.

That night in February 1989 Arsenal played in the yellow away kit which became immortalised a few months later with the title win at Anfield. With no away fans and the game being a friendly, the Clock End terrace was closed off, however, the North Bank made up for it with passionate vocal support. Despite being just a friendly the game did have a competitive edge to it, and beating a team like France carried plenty of kudos in our eyes. Three years earlier they had made in to the semi final of the 1986 World Cup and were one of the best teams of the 1980s; though by this point were a declining force.

From kick off it was clear that the French had better technique and moved the ball around very well. But George Graham’s team had great organisation plus an attacking edge and we won the game with two goals of quality. The first came about when Paul Merson scuffed a shot on the 20 yard line which was the opposite of quality; luckily, the ball rolled to Martin Hayes who smashed it past the great Joel Bats and into the top corner.

Later in the second half, Perry Groves made a great run down the right wing and crossed the ball into the box. Niall Quinn stretched out his long leg and with a beautiful touch softly chipped the ball over the head of the stranded Bats.

Despite being a friendly with a lower than average attendance, the goal celebrations from the players and the crowd were no different to any other game. Beating France mattered as we had no other opportunity to prove ourselves against the best overseas teams. The irony is that in recent years it’s been easier to field an Arsenal team versus England than it has against France. In the last couple of years the breakthrough of Wiltshire, Gibbs, Chamberlin and Walcott has slightly redressed the balance of English players.

Highlights of this game from 1989 can be found on youtube and I certainly recommend giving it a watch as a unique moment in Arsenal’s history. Put it this way: will we ever play France again?  

Matthew Bazell

TOS