Arsenal will wait for Campbell decision

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will leave it up to Sol Campbell to decide whether he feels able to face Manchester United on Sunday following the death of his father.

Campbell took part in Wednesday night’s Champions League tie against Inter Milan even though his 74-year-old father, Sewell, had suffered a stroke as his condition was thought to have stabilised.

However, his father later died and Campbell will therefore be given at least until tomorrow to make a final decision about his participation in Sunday’s game.

Wenger told the Evening Standard: “We will leave it up to him. First and foremost our thoughts and sympathy are with Sol and his family at the tragic news. We will wait and see how he recovers from it.

“You have to leave these decisions to the players. It can be a kind of therapy if he plays. You can get away and concentrate on something else. It is how everybody feels in that situation that dictates the attitude.

“But it will be left to Sol. We will respect whatever he decides to do at such a terrible time for him.”

If Campbell, who turned 29 yesterday, decides that he is not up to playing at Old Trafford, Martin Keown would be expected to partner Kolo Toure in defence, although Pascal Cygan is another option.

If, however, Campbell decides to carry on playing, he will have to attempt to shut out not only his personal trauma but also the professional pressure of facing United.

After all, it was against United at Highbury last season that he was sent off for clashing with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, earning him a four-match ban that ruled him out of the title run-in and the FA Cup final.

Then, after the two teams met again in the Community Shield in August, he was charged by the Football Association with retailiating against Eric Djemba-Djemba.

Campbell still faces a personal hearing on that charge, with a ban of up to three games if he is found guilty, and would come face to face with Steve Bennett, the referee in Cardiff last month, if he plays at Old Trafford.

The England defender nevertheless recently insisted that he has learned to cope with setbacks in his career as he reflected on his disciplinary woes.

“That whole episode was annoying because pre-season was fantastic, the first one I’ve ever played from start to finish,” he told the Arsenal matchday magazine earlier this week.

“I was feeling really good and there was the incident with Djemba-Djemba in the Community Shield, which the TV picked up and then it got bashed about in the media. But you’ve got to deal with that and move on.

“Anything that comes your way, you just have to take, because I can’t influence those sort of situations. All I can influence is how I approach games

“Once the verdict is out, that’s it for me, I’ll just get on with things. You have to block everything else out and move on.”