The CouchExpert

  August 13, 2011

Arsenal have announced the signing of Costa Rica’s teenage striker Joel Campbell. The fee and contract details are unknown as of now but most believe it to be around the £1m region. The forward will most probably be loaned out in order to gain his work permit, according to many sources. But I do not have any concrete confirmation on that front. The signing of another unproven “prodigy” comes at a time when the club have their star midfielders Cesc Fabregas (done deal according to reports) and Samir Nasri loitering around the exit doors.

New gun: Joel Campbell arrives at Arsenal

Campbell arrives from Deportivo Saprissa S.A.D., a highly successful Costa Rican top flight club. He has just played a couple of games for them before being loaned out to Puntarenas F.C., another Costa Rican club. Here again he has played a handful of games. He has no goals to his name at either club at top level in the few games he has under his belt for the duo. Where Joel Campbell has really shown his ability as a lethal striker is at the international level. He has netted 18 times in 27 games for the national team (National, U17 and U20 combined). He was the team’s highest scorer at the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship with 2 goals. He also struck 6 times at the 2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship to end up being the tournament’s top scorer. This is again another Arsene Wenger “signing for the future”. I do not see Campbell coming into the first team this season regardless of the work permit issue. And on the striking front Arsenal are in the same position as before – lose RVP to an injury and who scores? And given Chamakh’s poor form we really need to hold on to Nicklas Bendtner. This “signing for the future” is going to do nothing to placate the frustrated Arsenal fans and especially so when Fabregas and Nasri are on the verge of leaving when the new football season is almost upon us.

Arsene Wenger had his press meet yesterday where he mentioned the team having the strength in numbers and depth and that no one is leaving the club.  I had a nice chuckle, but felt sad. It was a show of defiance and Arsene was just trying his best to keep the team morale at acceptable levels ahead of today’s kickoff at St. James’ Park. But the real situation at the Emirates is far from settled as the heart of the midfield is about to be ripped in a few days. Though the Arsenal fans see Wenger’s ploy of keeping the team morale high, they are equally frustrated and angry at the situation the club is in. The fans are not angry about Cesc or Nasri leaving. The fans are angry simply because this is not the situation any team enters the kickoff day for a new season in. Arsenal’s game is on today but the fans do not know who the captain for the season is going to be. Enough said! It is not that fans cannot understand players leaving, Arsene. They are dejected simply because none of this was handled properly at all. We had a solid couple of months to make key decisions, strengthen and settle in nicely but we have a mess on the day of the new season. The impending star departures could have been handled in a swift, decisive way and an equal show of ambition could have been displayed in the transfer market as well. Instead too much time has been wasted thinking and negotiating. Arsenal fans would have be a far more satisfied lot with swift decisions and a couple of signings rather than star players leaving after the season begins. There are a further two weeks left in the transfer window and I hope Arsene fixes this ridiculous mess. Till then we just have to pray that Arsenal are able to qualify for Europe and survive league clashes against Liverpool and Manchester United with a team as unsettled as this.