Joel Campbell is yet to settle in properly at north London club Arsenal, after arriving just over four years ago, in the 2011 summer transfer window, reportedly bought for around £700,000 from Costa Rican side, Saprissa.
Joel was unlucky in his first few seasons at Arsenal, having trouble with getting hold of a work permit to allow him to play in England. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 2014/15 season that he eventually got hold of one, meaning he had to play his football elsewhere in the meantime, spending his first three seasons on loan at various clubs.
The Costa Rican found himself on a season long loan deal in France, with Ligue 1 side FC Lorient in his first season. He helped them see off the relegation battle by coming 17th, just one place above safety. The 19-year-old made 25 appearances that season, scoring a hat-trick of goals before returning to north London.
The next season, Campbell remained in Europe, but this time round spent another season long loan deal in Spain with Real Betis playing in La Liga. This season was slightly more disappointing than the previous season he spent at FC Lorient, but remember at only 20-years of age at this time, he was still very young. Joel finished that season playing 28 games for Betis, netting only twice.
Campbell then had a much better season on loan at Olympiakos, where at 21-years of age, made 32 appearance for the Greek Champions, contributing to their fourth straight league title with 8 goals. The Costa Rican had a stand out season, and really made a name for himself as he put one of two goals past Manchester United in the Champions League last 16 round first leg, in a 2-0 win.
That magic night in Piraeus, Greece, was one never to forget for the young forward, despite failing to progress further in the tournament. Nevertheless, this career highlight for Campbell left Arsenal fans excited to see more of him back at the Emirates, playing for their team in red and white.
For the first time in three years at Arsenal, Joel remained in north London for the coming season, and continued his sparkling form in front of the Arsenal fans during pre-season, scoring the first of five goals as Arsenal beat Benfica 5-1 in the 2014 Emirates Cup.
Unfortunately, Joel was unsuccessful continuing this form into the 2014/15 Premier League campaign with the Gunners, making only 10 appearances for Arsene Wenger’s side, failing to score a single goal. Many Arsenal fans argued against Wenger’s decision to rarely start or play Campbell, believing that the youngster wasn’t given much of a chance by the Frenchman, and understandably Joel was given another loan move in search for more first team football.
He has recently come back from that loan spell at Villarreal, in the Spanish top division, La Liga, where he scored one goal in 15 appearances for his club. He made the switch from London to Spain halfway through the season in the 2015 January transfer window, in a deal that saw central defender Gabriel Paulista head in the opposite direction, and signing for Arsenal on a long-term deal.
Now, Campbell is back at the Emirates once again, seeking an exit from the Gunners, with Italian side Palermo interested in taking the Costa Rican on board, but of late has criticised Arsenal for being a ‘difficult club to deal with’, as they consider giving up their pursuit of Campbell, according to Fox Sports.
The Serie A side reportedly offered Arsenal half of what the Londoners are demanding for the Costa Rican, which stands thus far at £7 million.
The Italian club have become frustrated according to agent Gianluca Forini, with negotiations between the two clubs still ongoing.
“The negotiations ran aground, Arsenal are a difficult club to deal with,” he said. “There is a will from Palermo to bring Joel Campbell to Italy.
“However, we (on behalf of Palermo) are a bit annoyed by the reaction of the Gunners and we are considering other targets.”
Joel doesn’t seem to be in Wenger’s plans for the coming season, with the huge variety of options that Wenger has to pick from in his current squad, it seems as though it will be hard for him to make a breakthrough in the near future.
The best thing for Campbell seems to be another loan move, or a permanent switch away from the Emirates, with his career yet to take off after four years of loan moves and generally unsuccessful spells at the club.
His career has seen him end up on no less than five loan deals (one before he signed for Arsenal), so who knows where the Costa Rican will be playing his football next season, or in the future.
