Wenger to give Costa Rica star Joel Campbell chance at Arsenal

Arsène Wenger will closely monitor Joel Campbell during the rest of the World Cup and then in pre-season training with Arsenal before making a final decision on whether to include him in his squad for next season.

Campbell’s starring performance for Costa Rica in their shock win against Uruguay has been a timely reminder of the option he could provide next season following three years on loan at Lorient, Real Betis and Olympiakos.

The current plan is for him to return to Arsenal after the World Cup and then, depending on pre-season and the situation with potential new signings, Wenger will decide whether another season of regular first-team football elsewhere would be beneficial. The expectation is that the 21-year-old will be given his chance to prove himself in pre-season.

Campbell can operate both as a striker or a winger and was also impressive for Olympiakos this season in the Champions League, notably in their narrow defeat against Manchester United.

Wenger is in Brazil watching matches as a pundit for French television. He is looking for a striker, a right back, a holding midfielder and a goalkeeper this summer. Should Campball stay with Arsenal, Wenger would still target a new striker.

Karim Benzema and Mario Mandzukic are among his main targets but he does not expect to make any signings until after the World Cup.

“He will definitely come back to us for pre-season,” the Arsenal manager said. “He is maturing well.”

Paulo Wanchope, the Costa Rica coach, reckons that Campbell’s motivation for his performance on Saturday came from an ambition finally to make it at Arsenal after his progress since a transfer in August 2011 has been stalled by work permit issues.

“He really wants to go back to Arsenal and play and I told him that the only way to do that is on the pitch,” said Wanchope, the former Derby County, West Ham United and Manchester City forward.

“He did well today and I think that he needs to perform even better against Italy and then England to have that chance to go back to Arsenal.”