Arsenal forward Joel Campbell rose to the challenge when it looked like his career at the Emirates Stadium might be coming to an end.
The Costa Rica international has had a series of false starts in North London, and was reportedly issued a now-or-never ultimatum by Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
The Central American attacker made the most of the opportunity afforded to him in the EPL giants’ away trip to Swansea City on Saturday, finding the net in a 3-0 triumph
Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud scored the other goals as the Gunners moved up to second in the Premier League table, four points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United and level with leaders Manchester City.
“I’m very happy,” Campbell told Arsenal Player after the match. “I had to wait for this moment and now we have to keep working to strengthen our team.
“I’m very happy but the important thing is the team wins. We had a good game so we have to keep going and prepare for the next game against Bayern Munich.
“The fans were incredible. They supported us the whole game and it was very important for us.”
However, it remains to be seen whether Campbell can make the most of the opportunity afforded to him and prove that he deserves to remain at the club.
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On paper, he is a fine marriage of pace and strength—a compromise between Giroud and Theo Walcott, as pointed out by Wenger—but his goal record doesn’t inspire confidence and he was dismal in the midweek defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup.
He scored three in 25 on loan at FC Lorient in Ligue 1, two in 28 for Betis in La Liga and only one in 16 for Villarreal in the Spanish top flight last term.