So, after signing a player who played his old club for fools in order to engineer a free transfer to Arsenal – it’s quite charming to see Arsene Wenger somehow surprised to find himself on the receiving end of a similar stunt from Honest Sol Campbell,
Campbell, or ‘Judas’ to his friends, has stated for weeks to the press, supporters and his manager that he only wanted to leave Arsenal to get a fresh challenge abroad. Wenger and David Dein understood his wishes and gave him their stamp of approval and support. At the time, his Solness said,
“I have walked away with absolutely nothing in place. All I know is that I want to play, in fact I need to play. Not for the money – I am lucky I don’t need the money – but I do need this fresh challenge.”
So in signing for Portsmouth Campbell managed to do the complete opposite of the two things he promised. He said he wanted to go abroad for a new challenge, he signs for Pompey. He said he wasn’t moving for money, he signs for a club with a billionaire owner dying to splash the cash.
At least Wenger didn’t hold back on a player who quite clearly has some sort of serious mental problem,
“I have no regrets, but it is a big surprise to me because he cancelled his contract to go abroad.
“Have you sold Portsmouth to a foreign country? No.”
Of course, Sol may just not have got any offers from clubs abroad because they think he’s shit.