The forward went on loan a total of seven times while playing for Arsenal
Joel Campbell felt he could have made a real impact at Arsenal had he not been repeatedly sent out on loan.
The winger arrived at the Gunners in 2011 but managed just 40 appearances across six seasons at the club. Campbell was sent out on loan on no fewer than seven occasions during his north London tenure, including a year-long stint at Sporting CP.
Arsenal will host the Portuguese club at the Emirates Stadium this evening for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. During his time at Sporting in 2016, Campbell claimed Arsenal had failed to reward him following an impressive return to the club the previous season.
Speaking to A Bola at the time, he said: “I feel good, This is a new experience. I think I deserved to play more after what I did last year, but now this is a new stage.”
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It was during the 2015/16 campaign that Campbell featured most prominently for Arsenal, making 30 appearances in total. He netted four goals and contributed six assists, including two during the Champions League group stage.
Despite establishing himself as a regular squad member, Campbell was loaned out on two further occasions before eventually leaving north London in 2018.
He penned a three-year contract with Serie A outfit Frosinone, despite harbouring hopes that Arsene Wenger’s departure might finally afford him a more prominent role at Arsenal. Wenger was replaced by Unai Emery in May 2018, following 22 years at the helm in north London.
Campbell revealed to Goal that he anticipated Emery would provide him with a chance, though this ultimately failed to materialise.
He said: “To be able to train and to play with those players was great. Wenger is a fairly quiet coach, but I liked him because he was one who gave a lot of freedom to his players on the pitch: he believed in the most technical players and he tried to put them in the starting XI.
“I have no regrets because I tried to use my opportunities and I don’t think I did badly when I was called into action.
“This summer I believed I could be part of Emery’s project, I spoke with the coach and the club, I was sure that I could do well in a technical system like that of the Spanish coach but the club had different ideas.
“It was a great experience that I will never forget because English football is something gigantic.”
Shortly after his move to Frosinone, Campbell would embark on another loan spell with Leon. He subsequently signed permanently for the Mexican outfit before eventually returning to his native Costa Rica.
The 33-year-old currently plies his trade for Liga FPD club Alajuelense and has recently featured for his nation during World Cup qualifying fixtures. Campbell has amassed 150 appearances for Costa Rica, including action in November 2025 against Haiti and Honduras.
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Arsenal have reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals where they host Sporting CP in the second leg on April 15. Fans can watch the game on TNT Sports via HBO Max or Prime Video’s TNT Sports channel.
