Sometimes, unfairly, when Arsenal supporters think back on their early nineties squad, KEVIN CAMPBELL is forgotten.
The attacker frequently had to settle for second place behind club greats like Ian Wright and Alan Smith, who were at the height of their powers at the time.
But he should be acknowledged for his part in the club’s triumph under George Graham.Long before his suԀԀen deаth, they ought to have been acknowledged and celebrated.After all, he provided the team with some genuinely important goals, especially during their 1992–1993 Cup double-winning season.Had his crucial equalisers against Derby County and Millwall not happened, there would have been no League and FA Cup double.
Following a £2.5 million initial sale to Nottingham Forest, he played three seasons at the City Ground.After going through the agony of relegation in the 1996–1997 campaign, he stayed on to help the team return to the top division the next year, when he scored 23 goals.
Campbell, however, didn’t stick around as he controversially upped sticks to join Turkish outfit Trabzonspor the following summer.His move to Turkey was seemingly the catalyst for Forest’s then-star striker Pierre van Hooijdonk to go on strike for THREE MONTHS.Only seven months would pass while Campbell was in Trabzon before he joined Everton, where he is now regarded as legendary.In eight games in 1998–1999 he nearly single-handedly prevented the Toffees from being relegated.Goodison Park supporters are still talking about his amazing relegation-saving haul today.His winning goal in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield the next season cemented his place in Everton legend.For the Toffees, who he led in the 2001–02 season, Campbell scored 39 goals in 150 games.He’s the fifth-highest Premier League goal scorer for Everton and the team’s first-ever black captain.When his deal at Goodison expired in January 2005, Campbell was free to join West Brom.And with three goals in 18 games, he was at his relegation-saving best, helping the Baggies become the first team to avoid relegation after being bottom at Christmas.The next season he repeated the haul, although the Baggies failed to make the Championship.Following his 20 Stoke City games in the 2006–07 season, Campbell would call it a day on his career.Over his almost 20-year professional career, Campbell was never given the chance to represent his nation.He probably would have had England not been endowed with so many outstanding strikers in the 1990s.His closest cap experience came in 1992 when he was a reserve for a friendly against Spain.Like many former players, Campbell eventually made the move into the world of commentary, providing his knowledge to the Premier League and Sky Sports during games against his former teams.
