» The Gooner World

If someone drew a productivity chart out of Sol Campbell's footballing career, the laws of Economics, more precisely, the law of diminishing marginal utility would be perfectly understood: Spurs defender -> the lowest ebb in the foodchain for a self-respecting footballer -> Arsenal defender - playing along side then defending giants of the English game - An Epl medal winner -> A Champions league losers medal -> An FA cup winner -> A league two player with no self dignity what so ever.

If the scales had been stopped then, Sol Campbell would have been a household name in all Economics textbooks as a perfect example for the above-mentioned law. However, Sol Campell refused to accept Morecambe to be his final resting place.

After quitting Notts County with no iota of dignity whatsoever, upending Notts County in the process, everyone must have been ready with a footballing obituary for Sol Campbell, even this writer read some.

But no one said this to Arsenal, more importantly to Arsene Wenger. He re-signed Sol Campbell, Arsenal's first ever player to come back during Wenger's reign.

Campbell's first match back, a romantic FA cup encounter against Stoke, was more about him testing out the elasticity of the legs, the thought process of his brain and the passion to be back, rather than keep a clean sheet to help Arsenal ease into the next round. He got a few headers of Sidibe and Fuller, lost some battles which had pace written all over it, but more than anything, the passion and the steely resolve was back - or did even disappear.

Then in that match where Ramsey was injured, while everyone were on tears or were consoling fellow players, Campbell wore a disinterested almost bone-chilling look: the message was clear, these things happen in football, let's get on with it.

After Vermaelen tapped in the third goal of the night, Campbell, with one foot on the hoardings, was fist-pumping while his much younger colleagues were gasping for breath.

For a 35-yr-old, let alone the physical tortures of playing at centre-half for a side like Arsenal, the body will already be crumbling under the weight of 20 years of intense physical training. But, for Campbell, even though the pain will not allow him to play more than 90 minutes a week, the eustress will guarantee him the physical and the mental satisfaction which will offset the physical pain.

Talk of playing for the Blighty at the World Cup would be a very myopic assessment, but with Ferdinand's injury troubles and John Terry's infidelity causing problems in the English camp, Campbell might yet don the three Lions jersey at the World Cup - on a more deserved basis than former Galaxy David Beckham.

For now though, Sol Campbell is discovering new boundaries of the term swan song, while Arsenal are breathing new life into a lost cause.