Sol Campbell reveals emotional toil of infamous North London switch - 'No-one has apologised'
Sol Campbell reveals emotional toil of infamous North London switch - 'No-one has apologised'
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Twenty-four years on, Sol Campbell knows his name will be chanted by both sets of fans in this week’s North London derby. Campbell is loved by the Arsenal fanbase as his arrival in 2001 helped the club win the Double and he was a huge part of the Invincibles title-winning season in 2003/04.
But there remains pure hatred from Tottenham supporters who saw their captain - just 26 and at the peak of his powers - walk out on a free transfer to join their deadliest rivals in 2001. Campbell can at last smile about it all - underlined by him doing an advert for Google Pixel entitled Switch Like Sol - and is still adamant about the choice he made.
Former England defender Campbell said: “It was a move by a young man who wanted to win. I wanted to win football games, I wanted to win championships, I wanted to see how far I could push my country, to see if I could win something for my country. “Everywhere I’ve played I’ve tried my best, wanted to win and I knew my time was running out and I had to think about what was the best possible chance of winning and joining a team which I can enhance.
“Sometimes if you’re in a team which only has four or five players then it’s hard work if you want to win anything. You need nine, 10, maybe 11 and then two or three on the bench who can make a difference. “I’d never had that before and I wanted to be in the best environment. Arsenal’s training ground was second to none and Highbury was beautiful, historic ground, the pitch was always amazing.
