Gunners rubbish claims Sol asked to leave

ARSENAL have taken the unusual step of publicly rubbishing claims that Sol Campbell has requested a transfer away from Highbury.

Club officials issued a statement after defender Philippe Christanval, who was not given a contract after a trial with the Gunners, was quoted in French newspaper L’Equipe claiming Campbell had “asked to leave.”

However, although the defender has admitted having words with Arsene Wenger after missing out on an FA Cup final place last season, the club insist he remains happy at Highbury.

The statement, released on the club’s website, www.arsenal.com, stated: “Reports stating that Sol Campbell has asked to leave the club are mischievous.

“Sol has not requested a move away from Arsenal and, as Arsene Wenger stated only recently, Sol is part of his plans. Sol’s focus right now is to get back to full fitness and help the team compete for silverware this season.”

Campbell is ruled out of Sunday’s Premiership game against Chelsea with a calf injury and is also set to miss England’s World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Northern Ireland.

Arsene Wenger’s focus will be fixed on overtaking Chelsea rather than celebrating past achievements as he completes a milestone of 500 games in charge of Arsenal in Sunday’s clash at Stamford Bridge.

Wenger has won three titles and four FA Cups during almost nine years in charge at Highbury, but is by no means resting on his laurels.

“It’s 500 games already but I feel like I arrived at Highbury yesterday so I can’t quite believe it,” he said.

“I like to win. What I have done before, I forget. What is important to me is what is straight in front of me. I live in the future and, when you are a competitor, you always expect the next competition.

“What drives me on is that I see the quality of the players in training every day. I feel we have the level to compete for the title. After that, all the hype is against us as it’s all for Chelsea. That is not a problem for me.

“Once you are on the pitch, either you make a good pass or a bad pass. No one in the stands can affect that. It’s not about what people say, it’s about what you do on the pitch. It’s as simple as that.”

Expectations still abound at Highbury, especially in the club’s final season at their historic ground before they move to the impressive new Emirates stadium.

“There is a sentimental aspect there as we want to finish well at Highbury. We want to be faithful to the history of the club but I am highly confident that this team can surprise a lot of people,” insisted Wenger.

While budgets have still allowed him to sign the likes of Jose Antonio Reyes, it has resulted in a fine crop of young talent at the club.

“I always expect the worst so I expected that for a few years we would be restricted financially,” he revealed.

“To anticipate that, I thought that I had to get some very good young players to make sure that we went into the new stadium with a good team.

“Now, once you have them and you feel they are at the right level, you have to put them in.

“If you now bought a player and put him in front of Cesc Fabregas, it would only kill him. If you don’t have faith in him, you would destroy what you had built.”