Arsene Wenger says Sol Campbell will regain his starting spot at Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger has given Sol Campbell as boost by declaring that the England international will regain his place in the Arsenal first XI next season.Campbell was left on the sidelines for the FA Cup triumph over Manchester United after Wenger opted to stick with the in-form pair of Kolo Toure and Philippe Senderos.
An ankle injury has derailed Campbell's season as he has hardly featured in the last three months, with 20-year-old Swiss stopper Senderos excelling in his absence to garner widespread praise.
However, despite the burgeoning promise of the former Servette man, and the consistent quality of Toure, Wenger has confirmed that he will revert to utilising his most experienced defender when next season gets underway.
The Gunners boss also explained his reasoning behind leaving Campbell on the bench for the clash in Cardiff, insisting that he could not have coped with the demands of extra time.
"It was a very difficult decision because I love Sol Campbell," said Wenger. "I had played him in the past two games but I just felt that he was not completely ready for 90 minutes and we had lost a few games in the last 15 or 20 minutes.
"Having been out for so long, I felt he would be a bit short, especially for extra time.
"Philippe Senderos and Kolo Toure have worked very well together and their record is tremendous, but Sol will be back at the start of next season in the team."
Whilst Campbell is sure to reclaim his starting berth, other first team regulars will be sweating over their places with Wenger set to invest in the squad after finishing twelve points behind Premiership leaders Chelsea.
The French tactician is widely expected to bring in a new keeper to challenge Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia, and confirmed that he is looking to develop all areas of his squad to add some experience amongst his young fledglings.
"In every area, we want to improve. We have 90 percent of what is needed but if we find one or two players, we will do it," Wenger continued.
"We have the money and we can buy reasonably. Then again, there's not a lot of players available and our players are very young.
"This will make them even stronger. Players like Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie have won their first trophy and that will give them confidence.
They will be much better in September than now."
