Joel Campbell signed a long-term deal with Arsenal
The Gunners forward Joel Campbell signed a new long-term contract at the club before joining Villarreal on loan, the Emirates side have revealed.
Campbell was sent to the Spanish side until the end of the season as part of the deal that brought defender Gabriel Paulista to north London, giving him a chance to play a high standard of regular first-team football.
The Costa Rican impressed at the World Cup with Costa Rica and had enjoyed a fairly successful loan spell with Olympiacos last season, but has since struggled to impose himself at Arsenal.
Now he has joined Villarreal on loan until the end of the season, but made sure to commit his “long-term” future to the Gunners before he left, the club confirmed on their official website.
The 22-year-old had only started three games for Arsenal this season, in all competitions, making a further seven appearances as a substitute, so a move to the continent could do him good. He completed 57% of his duels in the Premier League this season
The Gunners forward needs to be playing regularly at the moment, but had slipped behind Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez in the pecking order at the Emirates, so followed fellow forwards Lukas Podolski and Yaya Sanogo away from the club on loan.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Paulista completed his permanent switch to Arsenal on Wednesday, as Arsene Wenger brings in a new boy to bolster his shaky backline.
