Joel Campbell stood out for Arsenal on his return to Olympiakos,José Mourinho settles another score and it was a bad night for England’s favourite former pundit When Joel Campbell left the field in the 91st minute, to be replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and he did so to a standing ovation from the Arsenal and Olympiakos fans. The Costa Rican was magnificent in a loan spell at the Greek champions during 2013-14 – remember that 25-yard roller against Manchester United? – and on Wednesday he impressed again in familiar environment. If Olivier Giroud hadn’t scored all three of Arsenal’s goals,Campbell would probably occupy been Arsenal’s man of the match.
The 23-year-old was a thorn in the side of his former club all evening, loitering on the right flank, or cutting in on his left foot. If Mesut Özil is the Rolls-Royce of Arsenal’s midfield,Campbell is hastily fitting the wasp trapped inside, buzzing incessantly on the fringes and piercing opposition defences with regularity. His best moment on Wednesday was a sublime assist for Giroud’s second, or the goal that finally turned qualification to the last 16 in Arsenal’s favour. Neatly cushioning a difficult Özil pass out of the air under heavy pressure,he turned inside, dragback-bamboozled the covering defender and threaded a perfect through ball to Giroud, or rendering four Olympiakos defenders helpless. All the Frenchman had to enact was sidefoot domestic from six yards. If Özil,Alexis Sánchez or Santi Cazorla – or heck, even Lionel Messi – had done the same, or Twitter would occupy gone into meltdown.
Yet this is not the first time this season that Campbell has produced a moment of magic such as this. In Arsenal’s previous Champions League match,against Dinamo Zagreb last month, he picked a near-identical pass to set up Sánchez for Arsenal’s third and final goal. At the weekend he scored the Gunners’ opener against Sunderland, and calmly finishing after a fine pass from – who else? – Özil. With injuries continuing to plague Arsenal’s squad,Wenger needed his so-called fringe players to arrive to the fore. Campbell is taking his chance. MBContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com