Campbell: Time off did me good

Sol Campbell believes a break from football was what he needed to get back to his best.

The veteran defender was a free agent for six months after leaving Notts County and didn't play football until appearing for Arsenal's Reserves in January.

Since then the former England international has impressed for the Gunners' first team, showing some of the form that made him a hit in his first spell with the club.

The man himself believes the time away from football was good for him, saying: "You go through ups and downs in football, just like anybody in life. You go through seasons when you feel unbelievable and other seasons when it just doesn't work out whatever you do. But I always knew I had the desire, the hunger - that's never going to go away.

"When you've been playing for a long time the hunger does wane a little bit but there is always something in life to light up that spark to start you off again. So that's kind of embedded in me, it is not going away.

"There were a few factors. There's me not playing football for six months, that gave me the time to think about football, train at the same time, get angry, get that aggression you need, also to realise where you are in life and also how much you love football and how it is very dear to your heart.

"Being away from the game also gave me time to spend time with my family, also it just made me kind of relax a little bit, my stamina went back up again, my physical batteries definitely recharged. I can feel it now, I am not as tired - OK I have played a few games, but the stamina is there and it keeps me going."

The centre-back, chasing a new contract for next season, is proud to be playing at the top level once again.

He said: "I have got to hand it to myself and realise that there was a lot of digging deep and starting all over again and ups and downs.

"A lot of things came together to get me here. I came back to Arsenal to train but I never would have dreamt that I would be playing back here. I didn't have that in my mind, I just wanted to keep fit."

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