Thierry Henry: I want to see Joel Campbell in an Arsenal shirt next season

Joel Campbell

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has praised Joel Campbell saying that he hopes the youngster is given an opportunity in an Arsenal shirt next season.

Campbell, 21, has been with Arsenal since 2011 but work permit issues have meant that the striker has been unable to make a single appearance for his parent club. However those issues have now been solved and after a number of loan spells Campbell is now ready to take his chance at Arsenal.

Henry, who is working for the BBC at the World Cup was effusive in his praise for Campbell saying that he hoped Arsenal fans would get to see Campbell lining up for their team soon.

“Joel Campbell is a great player. He can pass the ball well and smells the goal,” Henry said.

“We are all waiting to see him in an Arsenal shirt. Hopefully he will be a player Arsene Wenger likes because I would love to see him play for Arsenal.”

Henry played over 350 games for Arsenal and he is currently their all time record scorer with 226 goals in all competitions.

This season Campbell has been on loan at Greek side Olympiacos where he shot to prominence following his sensational goal against Manchester United in the Champions League.

He started the World Cup with a goal and an assist as Costa Rica shocked Uruguay to claim an opening 3-1 victory. He had a slightly more isolated role against Italy but he still proved himself to be a very useful outlet for his team.

With a performance score of 56 only Oscar Duarte (69) had a higher performance score than Joel Campbell in the match between Costa Rica and Uruguay.