Player profile: Who is Joel Campbell, the Arsenal striker on loan at Olympiakos?
Costa Rican striker scored against Manchester United on Tuesday night
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Your support makes all the difference.Joel Campbell has begun to prove his worth in red and white, but at Olympiakos, not Arsenal. After his debut Champions League goal on Tuesday night, the 21-year-old Costa-Rican expressed a desire to return to his parent club for a shot in the Premier League.
“As soon as Arsenal came, I wanted to join them and I believe I am ready to play for Arsenal next season,” Campbell revealed. “I have the capacity to play there and I am only waiting for the opportunity. With hard work I can get there.”
Wenger now has a decision on his hands. Campbell, a Costa-Rican international, will line up to face England on June 24, and if the youngster has not already proved his worth by the time the referee blows his whistle, he will feel there is no better place to do so than on the world stage against the country in which he wishes to stay.
When Campbell slotted the ball through the legs of Michael Carrick on Wednesday night, a few eyebrows began to raise. When he followed that up with an audacious left-footed strike into the bottom corner of David De Gea's net, Arsene Wenger's phone surely began to ring.
Is another loan appropriate for the young wide midfielder, or is he ready to ply his trade on these shores? His previous loans, in France with Lorient, Spain with Real Betis, and Greece with Olympiakos, have gained him invaluable experience in some of the world's top leagues.
This season he has taken to the Champions League remarkably well, but it is now up to Arsene Wenger to decide if he is ready to return.
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