Why Joel Campbell Should Start Up Front Against Everton

I drove 50km tonight to watch my beloved Arsenal play against Besiktas at my brother's house. It was an underwhelming performance to say the least. We didn't control the game and we didn't have a decent spell of possession in their half. I haven't checked any Arsenal news since the match, but I'm sure the blogosphere is insisting that Giroud's performance tonight is evidence that we need another striker. He did play poorly, but I believe his form will come right and he'll perform better than last season.






Before the game I was telling my brother that it's my belief that this is Giroud's year - that he's going to be superb up front; but my faith wavered during the 90 minutes. I believe that this is the opportunity to give Joel Campbell the chance that Wenger has been promising. Arsene Wenger was quoted last week as saying," He is a member of my squad at the moment, He had a good preparation and played well against Benfica. In training he is very focused and eager to do well. I would like to keep him.” 

I feel that it would be the perfect time to give Campbell a chance because Giroud is obviously not playing well and his confidence is low. Enough about Giroud, this piece is supposed to be more about Campbell than anybody else. The primary reason I think Campbell should start against Everton is because his biggest asset is a weakness for the Evertonian centre-backs: speed. Campbell is a lot faster than Jagielka and Distin, but still offers the height and strength that Sanchez can't offer. I also think that his confidence is relatively high and a starting spot against Everton will boost that. I believe that he's hungry to do well for Arsenal, something that most of the team were lacking tonight.

A slight hidden agenda on my part: I hope to see Akpom play in the League Cup matches because I believe that he could be world-class. If Campbell gets enough game-time in the league, Akpom could play in the domestic cups.

Regards