Thursday, March 28, 2024

Player of the Week: Joel Campbell

You know what? Olivier Giroud is going to win us the Champions League, you just know it. It’ll be a scrappy nose dive of a goal and we’ll all go mental. It’ll be against Bayern Munich. Right, let’s leave that there and see what happens. Player of the Week isn’t as clear cut as you’d think, sure Giroud was sensational on Wednesday night, but he was a bit dross against Sunderland. Then there’s Joel Campbell to consider.

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Obviously, Mezut was stunning again, because that’s all he’s been this season. Ramsey is back to his action-hero self. Koscielny is a titan. It’s been a good week. I did feel we’d pull something off, but I didn’t expect to see the team do it so convincingly. That’s up there with the best European performances, sitting pretty right next to that night at the Emirates when Barcelona thought they’d ruin our house party. Giroud may get the headlines, but I think Joel Campbell has answered his critics even more so than the often blasted Frenchman.

He had a productive, while quiet game against Sunderland. He took his goal well, found again by the always present Ozil. The goal came from the left hand side, prompting Wenger to deploy the same tactic on Wednesday night. It didn’t work out. Attacks felt stilted, and we were getting overrun down the right hand side with the unfit Theo Walcott making up for lost time. Wenger made the switch, kudos to him for that. And kudos to him for sticking with Campbell who is improving every game, because all he needed was a fair chance, none of this 20 minute afterthought rubbish. Campbell down the right… a different prospect. He’s clearly more comfortable, and so too I think is Walcott on the left side. I actually much prefer Theo cutting in from the left. The Costa Rican has a tricky left foot, made evident by his wonderful assist later in the game, and the evidence from the last two games would show he has no problem beating his man down the flank. He works tirelessly, too. That’s something everyone loves to see, and Joel really busts a gut when he’s chasing out there. I expect he knows he’s playing for his place, but every player should approach games that way. Anyway, it’s a place rightly deserved. He’s becoming a legitimate threat and option.

The opening goal didn’t involve Campbell, but he did cause havoc moments earlier. Set free by Giroud I think, he left his fullback for dust and tore into the box finding Flamini who smashed against the crossbar. It was a sign of the danger he presents. He’s very quick at tearing up ground when he get’s going, and he was a thorn in their side all game.

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After some huffing and puffing, with a steady grow of dominance into the game, Arsenal found their second, and this was Joel Campbell stealing the show. It was a simple goal in the end, but he had a lot to do. First, his touch to take the lofted ball had to be perfect, and it was. He got the ball under control instantly, got his feet comfortable, dragged the ball away from the defender, and then still had the Ozil vision to split the defence wide open. The pass was perfect. Giroud’s finish was lethal. That was almost game over, and by the third Olympiacos were stunned.

Campbell has been excellent in the last two weeks, and even when he’s looked lost, he’s still had an impact, whether it’s goals or assists. Taking into consideration his lack of playing time, he’s had a fairly healthy impact since he’s been in the Arsenal set up. I’m still holding back slightly for Campbell, because I know what I saw at the World Cup, and he isn’t quite at that level yet, but it happened, and it can happen again. It will be disappointing from Wenger if Campbell is dropped the instant Sanchez returns. Yes, the Chilean is several levels above, but Campbell has been performing. He’s been scoring. He’s been assisting. He’s been running. Tracking back. Giving everything. Sanchez can save the day from the bench, dropping Campbell when he’s the player in form would leave a sour taste.

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