Arsenal Vs Aston Villa: 5 Things We Learned
By Josh Sippie
5. Campbell’s quality isn’t set in stone just yet
This is not so much a lesson learned as it is a ‘let’s see what happens next.’ Joel Campbell has been oozing quality since taking over first team duties. He has proven that he can indeed strike up a career at Arsenal, which has been his goal all along. Despite all the opportunities that he had to leave, he stayed at Arsenal and we are seeing why.
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Campbell has been incredibly consistent and composed. However, against Aston Villa, he was not. He was still a threat at times, but his measly 20 touches, 68% pass completion, one key pass, zero shots and one tackle remind us that the quality we have been seeing is not set in stone yet. Again, it was not an awful game by any means. It just felt like it was a game that he was not going to have a big part of. And that is part of the benefit of being on the wing. You can fade in and out without any huge detriment to the team.
This is a big time for Joel Campbell. I tend to think that he is not going to have the longest leash at Arsenal so he needs to bounce back. We have seen him playing with a lot of confidence, but that confidence will be shaken after his first bad outing. It is up to him to pull himself up and strike back before the Ox can prove himself superior.
Which leads us to our next lesson learned. About a guy who did not even play.
Next: 4. Alexis....