Joel Campbell’s World Cup joy is a reminder of his bygone Arsenal days

One of the joys of watching the World Cup from an English perspective is shrieking with delight at seeing half-forgotten Premier League names strut their stuff on football’s biggest stage.

There was certain karma about Diego Forlan, who became a punchline at Manchester United, taming the Jabulani and winning the Golden Boot in 2010 as England showcased their pouting incompetence.

And I couldn’t have been the only person to leap off the sofa when the underwhelming Fulham attacker Bryan Ruiz scored the winner against Italy that sent Costa Rica through and knocked England out in 2014.

Consessiuers of this very nerdy genre will be drooling at some of the names destined to feature at Qatar 2022.

Iran, England’s first opponents, are hoping that Alireza Jahanbakhsh will gain a modicum of personal revenge for his failure at Brighton while Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s presence in the Cameroon midfield will cause those of a Fulham persuasion to raise their eyebrows.

Sebastian Coates. Wahbi Khazri. Enner Valencia. All these players and more will head to the Middle East determined to prove that their misadventures in England haven’t defined their careers.

Which, in a roundabout way, brings us round to Joel Campbell.

Towards the end of Campbell’s Arsenal spell, there was a huge battle of wills between Arsene Wenger’s desire to prevent the forward from a single Carabao cameo and his desire not to sell him at any cost.

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READ: Seven of Arsene Wenger’s most forgettable signings at Arsenal

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In seven years for the club, Campbell made a whole 23 appearances. He was under contract for longer than Robert Pires and William Gallas yet made fewer appearances than Scott Marshall and John Hartson.

Even Remi Garde made more Arsenal