Joel Campbell - The Left-Footed Thierry Henry

Joel Campbell is one of Arsenal‘s most exciting youngsters who joined the North London club for around £900,000 in the panicking August of 2011. Joel was not able to get a visa in time so he was shipped out on loan to one of Arsenal’s affiliated clubs, FC Lorient.

The decision to send Campbell on loan to Lorient, could’ve been due to the fact of their footballing philosophy. Arsene knew it wouldn’t take long for Joel to settle in at Les Merlus as their style of play is similar to ours. Arsene knew how good it would be for the Costa Rican, because he saw how well Francis Coquelin progressed there the year before.

Joel had an impressive season on loan at Lorient, making 27 appearances, scoring 4 goals and giving an assist. Although this may not seem a lot, the striker didn’t really have a team around him of what he would have at the Emirates as FC Lorient finished 17th in Ligue 1 being a single point away from relegation.

If he wants to, he could be as successful at Arsenal as Thierry Henry was. Some will even compare the two by the time Joel’s in the first team.

I’ve done my best to watch Lorient as much as I can this season just for Campbell, and he reminds me of a young Henry. He plays like him, he’s as hungry as him, and he even finishes like him.

Joel has also been nothing less than a star for Costa Rica at all levels. For the Under 17′s, he scored 8 goals in 9 games, for the Under 20′s, he scored 10 goals in 13, and since making his debut for the national team, he’s scored 4 goals in 10 games.

After making his debut for the Costa Rica first team, Joel is now eligible to get a visa so he can play for Arsenal and is likely to join up with the squad for pre-season.

Campbell Fun Fact: The Costa Rica manager, Ricardo La Volpe, claims to have discovered Campbell’s talent after seeing him playing football with cans!

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