Sol Campbell insists he received ‘no help’ during period in Arsenal career that saw him leave Highbury at half-time during West Ham clash in 2006

There is a touch of sadness for Sol Campbell when he recalls the period in his illustrious career that saw him walk out of a Premier League game at half-time.

Playing for Arsenal against West Ham in 2006, the former England defender asked manager Arsene Wenger to take him off at the break and he subsequently left the ground.

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Campbell was disappointed with Arsenal’s response during a difficult period in his career

Five months later he left the club by mutual consent in order to seek ‘a fresh challenge’.

Speaking in a special talkSPORT documentary to be aired on Thursday, Being Sol Campbell, he said: “The pressure was immense on me, I was injured. No one was giving me any help.

“There was no check and balances with what people were writing, what they were saying.

“I look back on it with great sadness and say ‘it wasn’t me’. But then I have to think about how I got to that level. I had to sort myself out, and I did, but not everyone can do that. 

“Not everyone can do that then a few months later score in a Champions League final. You have to remember I got through that.”

AFP

He made two defensive errors which led to West Ham goals before departing Higbury at half-time

Wenger gave Campbell time off after the episode and insisted the latter’s issues had caught him by surprise.

“You never know what’s going on in the head of everybody,” the legendary ex-Gunners boss said.

“He just had a moment last season when he had problems to sort out and his head was not on the game.

“Sometimes they need these kind of breaks to recover, to refresh and to focus on the game again.”

When asked if he felt it affected his mental health, Campbell responded: “Everyone has got their threshold, I kind of rebooted and got myself together and played the game I loved.

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The defender’s thumping header was not enough to secure Champions League glory against Barcelona in his final game for the club before leaving

“That’s what you’ve got to remember. I got back on the pitch and playing quality football and got back into the England side. 

“You see one little negative, but after that there’s a lot of positive.”

In the fascinating documentary Campbell also opened up on the sickening abuse he continues to receive from Tottenham fans – nearly two decades after leaving for arch rivals Arsenal.

He spent more than 12 years at Spurs, rising through the youth ranks and going on to be a star for their first team.

But after turning down the offer a new contract at Tottenham, Campbell made the hugely controversial move across north London on a free transfer in 2001.

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“It’s ridiculous because it happened such a long time ago,” he explained. “Are you going to keep worrying about me when I’m 80 years old?

“I was 25 and now I’m 46. You’ve probably done things when you’re 25 or 15 or whatever. It doesn’t even make any sense now, move on.

“New team, new stadium, new type of lifestyle going forward, and still passing it around like a campfire story. It’s ridiculous. 

“For me, it is what it is. We all made our decisions, you accept it and you move on.”

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