Arsenal legend Wenger reveals regret at ‘stressful’ signing from Spurs
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he is “not sure” he would’ve signed Sol Campbell from Spurs if he could go back in time.
Despite Tottenham reportedly offering Campbell a contract that would’ve made him the highest paid player at the time, he chose to leave on a free transfer in 2001 to arch-rivals Arsenal.
The former England international was labelled ‘Judas’ by some Spurs fans at the time, while he suffered from the backlash for many years after.
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And Wenger, who brought Campbell to Arsenal, claimed that he may have chosen to pursue another target if he had the opportunity to make the decision again.
“I knew that it would cause heated debates in London, but I was truly convinced by the player,” Wenger told 11 Freunde.
“I thought he was capable of facing the adversity. For me, it was easy because everybody was conscious that I had signed a great player. But for him, it was more complicated.”
Wenger added: “The situation was really stressful for Sol and he told me afterwards how severe it became.
“He couldn’t go to certain places for dinner or walk freely in London because of the anger of the Tottenham fans.
“In hindsight, I’m not sure if I would sign him again bearing in mind the difficulties he faced.”
