Campbell wants Gunners stay

But veteran centre-back does not know when talks will take place

Last updated: 20th April 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Campbell wants Gunners stay

Campbell: Waiting for call

When you get close, you get that experience of coming close and losing, or coming close and winning to get to the next level.

Sol Campbell
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Sol Campbell wants to stay at Arsenal but does not know when he will discuss the subject with manager Arsene Wenger.

The 35-year-old defender returned to the Gunners in January on a short-term contract after previously training with the club he had left in 2006.

Campbell was only viewed as a stop-gap but he has been one of the few bright points in Arsenal's end-of-season collapse, especially in the defeats to Tottenham and Wigan.

Reports have therefore suggested that Wenger wants the former Spurs star to sign an extended deal, which is a scenario the centre-back would welcome, but he is in the dark with regards to when his future will be discussed.

Stupid

"I really don't know what's going to happen," said Campbell in the Daily Mirror. "Of course I want to play! That's a stupid question, really.

"The boss has always done it as he does. He might phone me in July, might speak to me next week, but for me I'm just going to concentrate on the last few games. He will do it in his own way, as he always does."

Campbell's 18 years of playing experience at the top level has been viewed as his major attribute in Arsenal's recent struggles, when they have been eliminated from the UEFA Champions League and have slipped out of the Premier League title race.

Wenger's young squad are thought to lack an essential winning know-how but Campbell thinks this season will provide a valuable lesson.

"When you get close, you get that experience of coming close and losing, or coming close and winning to get to the next level," he said.

Positives

"That's the area that only a few players get to, or a few teams get to on a regular basis.

"Players and individuals will be better next year or the year after. You have to take the positives.

"You also have to remember how you felt, then next time you want to be hungrier and do better. You have to take everything from the disappointments.

"I want people to understand that when we get in that situation again - and we will get in that situation again as a team - that whoever is here, the team has to have the right personnel.

"We need to be mentally ready for it to kick on again and you want 11 guys on the pitch, players on the bench, a few in the stands and all of them on that level."

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