Arsenal: Joel Campbell Can Save The Season Again

Arsenal was without some key players for a big portion of the season and it was Joel Campbell who rose to the occasion. Time for round two.

I truly hope that at the end of the season, Joel Campbell is given significant credit for his ability to plug the hole in a ship that was taking on water. The Costa Rican has never been viewed highly by Wenger and has been given scarce chances to prove himself. Loans have dominated his history at Arsenal, but this year was something different.

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This year, Campbell was finally given a chance as a last ditch option. With Alexis crucially injured, Walcott briefly hurt, but still ineffective and the Ox strangely out of favor, Wenger had no one to turn to but Joel Campbell.

Given his first ever Premier League start against Swansea City, Campbell put in a shift. Arsenal did not start off well, but Campbell did. He was responsible for most of the offense and it became pretty apparent that the lad deserved a goal. And he got it. In smooth and composed fashion, Campbell received a ball in the box and coolly deposited it into the back of the net. It was like he’d been doing this his entire career.

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That won him the starting role. Without Alexis, Arsenal’s season did not deviate at all. They maintained title relevance and stayed alive for the inevitable return of Alexis Sanchez.

But it was not just against Swansea that Campbell impressed. He continued to impress. His work rate was nothing short of beastly. He was not a regular scorer but when given the chance, he excelled, with a few odd instances of completely crapping out in the box. It did not happen often.

Through all of his appearances, Campbell never looked particularly bad – until Southampton. Against Southampton, Campbell was poor on the ball and a big reason why Arsenal ended up scoreless against the Saints yet again. Apparently one bad match was all Wenger was waiting for as the switch was immediately made and the Ox was given the start.

Given the Ox’s relative success, it was hard to argue with the results.

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However, the Ox is now re-injured and Campbell is again going to be given more shots at the starting role. It is at a crucial time yet again, because Arsenal is running into a streak of heavy fixtures. Arsenal is looking at two fixtures every week for the foreseeable future.

That means heavy rotation is in order, which means a return of Campbell, who has been largely ignored since his one bad performance.

Through all the rotation, Arsenal cannot suffer any dips in form if they are to pull out any sort of silverware this year. Campbell is the key component of that rotation. He still gets a bad rap for being inconsistent but in truth, he only had one bad game. What made Campbell so special was his remarkable consistency when Walcott and the Ox were like playing the lottery.

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That consistency will be seen again in the coming weeks and yet again, it will be a saving grace for an otherwise threadbare Arsenal.