Sol Campbell played in an era where going toe-to-toe with some of the best strikers to have ever graced English and European football was commonplace for defenders.
But Campbell was a world-class centre-back in his heyday and coming up against a defender who read the game as well as the Englishman did, timed his challenges to perfection and was incredibly physically imposing at the time was a nightmare for even some of the best goalscorers the game has ever seen.
Sol Campbell can be proud of himself, having locked horns with elite number nines, from Ronaldo Nazario to Ruud van Nistelrooy and held his ground. Rio Ferdinand described Campbell as “underrated” as despite the career he had at club level for the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as well as England, the 50-year-old perhaps does not get the credit he deserves.
At the peak of his powers, top clubs were especially keen on signing the veteran when he was at Tottenham, with Jamie Carragher revealing Liverpool tried signing Campbell as well as Barcelona.
However, Sol Campbell opted for a controversial move to Arsenal in 2001 and joined a Gunners side that featured other superstars such as Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
Sol Campbell names Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp as toughest opponents
Alongside the likes of Henry and Bergkamp as well as other top players like Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira, Campbell won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups in the red half of North London.
Sol Campbell, who signed for Arsenal at 27 established legendary partnerships at the back alongside Tony Adams and Kolo Toure, who made life hell for strikers across the English top-flight.
But like any defender, the ‘Invincible’ had his hard days of work at the back against some extraordinary players as well.
When asked which striker was his toughest opponent on The Overlap’s Stick To Football show, Sol Campbell named Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp: “The pairing, I think with Thierry and Dennis, that was hard work. That was hard work. Relentless.”
“You know, just quality play and clever, how they linked in, them two and incredibly strong, both of them and run all day long and really, really skillful. I think as a pair, it’s hard. Obviously, Wazza [Wayne Rooney] was hard and Wrighty [Ian Wright] because he was always in and around and you had to watch and all these top, top, top, top centre-forwards, I had to deal with it, I don’t think that’s around anymore so you have to say, hey, I had to deal with it and I got through it!”
Sol Campbell record with Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal
But Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp would also admit that Sol Campbell possibly made both of them better players.
Having to face an elite defender in training day in and day out would have perhaps made the legendary pair’s job easier during matchday as most players in the former Spurs colossus’ position in the league were not at his standard.
Sol Campbell played 175 and 133 games with Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp respectively.
| SOL CAMPBELL AND THIERRY HENRY | SOL CAMPBELL AND DENNIS BERGKAMP | |
| MATCHES | 175 | 133 |
| WINS | 110 | 87 |
| DRAWS | 38 | 31 |
| LOSSES | 27 | 15 |
Campbell won 110, drew 38 and lost 27 times when playing alongside Henry.
As for Sol Campbell and Dennis Bergkamp’s time on the pitch, they won 87, drew 31 and lost just 15 times at Arsenal. The Emirates faithful must long for the days when their three legends played for them as they well and truly elevated the club to unforeseen heights.
