London's "Arsenal" coach Arsene Wenger admitted that Joel Campbell's attitude and performances in the UEFA Champions League helped save his career in the "Gunners" ranks.
The Costa Rican national team player arrived in England in 2011, but was loaned to "Lorient", Seville's "Real Betis", Piraeus's "Olympiacos" and "Villarreal" clubs.
This season, "Arsenal" decided to keep the winger in London and with the injury crisis approaching, Campbell got his chance.
"I always thought his attitude was right," said Wenger. "But in games where we had our backs against the wall, he showed something special."
"Great teamwork and the pass to Olivier Giroud in the game against 'Olympiacos' were very important to us. That's when I noticed he could play well under psychological pressure."
"I immediately refused to loan him out again because of his attitude, I saw something that gave me belief."
"True, when there are such good players in the same position, who you really can't keep on the bench, there was a question, but he had already been loaned out four times."
"He came back and then I thought: 'Should we let him go to another club again? Let's keep him until January.'
After recovering from an injury, Campbell still couldn't hold his place in the starting lineup for Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but his minutes on the field significantly increased even coming off the bench.
This season, the striker played 18 matches in all competitions, scoring 3 goals and making 2 assists.
