Arsenal forward Joel Campbell is set for a medical with Serie A club Frosinone on Thursday after arriving in Italy. Campbell is set to sign a three-year deal that will end bring to an end his seven-year stay at Arsenal. The Costa Rican forward moved to London in 2011 but did not obtain a work permit until 2013.
He has had six loan spells with FC Lorient, Olympiacos, Villarreal, Sporting Lisbon and two with Real Betis but now finds himself with a permanent home for the 2018/19 season.
Good luck in Italy, @joel_campbell12 ??
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 17, 2018
Campbell played 23 Premier League games for Arsenal and scored just three times.The Costa Rica ace, 26, has played just 23 league games for Arsenal since 2011 – going out on loan SIX times. Frosinone finished third in Serie B to book their second stint in the top flight having been relegated after just one season in 2016.
Campbell has racked up 79 caps for Costa Rica – scoring five times – in an impressive international career.But he has never managed to establish himself at Arsenal, playing a total of 40 games over the course of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. He has been shipped out to Real Betis, Olympiakos, Villarreal, Sporting, and Lorient with varying degrees of success.
After the transfer window shut on Thursday, new Gunners boss Unai Emery named Campbell as one of three players he would allow to leave.Carl Jenkinson and David Ospina were the others on the list with the ex-Paris Saint-Germain chief happy with his squad.
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger announced that Campbell would be part of his first team plans for Arsenal’s 2014–15 season. On 2 August 2014, Campbell scored in Arsenal’s 5–1 win over Benfica in the Emirates Cup. Eight days later in the 2014 FA Community Shield, he replaced Aaron Ramsey for the final five minutes of the 3–0 win over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
He made his Premier League debut on 23 August in a 2–2 draw against Everton at Goodison Park, coming off the bench to replace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the 74th minute of the match.Campbell’s first Arsenal start came in the third round of the League Cup on 23 September, lining up in attack with Alexis Sánchez and Lukas Podolski in a 1–2 home defeat against Southampton. BBC Sport described Campbell and Podolski as “largely anonymous” during the match.
Loan to Villarreal
On 24 January 2015, Villlarreal announced the signing of Campbell on loan until the end of the season.On 10 May, he scored his first goal for the team, the only goal in a victory over fellow Valencians Elche, which secured sixth place for The Yellow Submarine in La Liga and entry into the following season’s UEFA Europa League.