I was devastated to hear the sad news of Kevin Campbell’s passing yesterday after a short illness.
Kevin, who was 54, was born in Lambeth. He was a boyhood Arsenal supporter who joined the Club on School boy forms in 1985. He was a prolific scorer for the youth team netting 59 times one season. At youth level he was a member of Arsenal’s 1988 FA Youth Cup winning side.
He made his first team debut against Everton on 7 May 1988 and he went on to make 163 appearances for the Club, scoring 46 goals including the winner vs PSG in the European Cup Winners Cup semi final at Highbury. During his time with the Arsenal he was an integral member of the 1991 First Division Championship, the 1993 domestic cup double and the 1994 European Cup Winners Cup winning squads.
In 1989 Campbell had successful loan spells at Leyton Orient and Leicester City.
Having lost his place in the starting line up he left Arsenal for Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1995. He also went on to play for Turkish side Trabzonspor, Everton, West Brom and Cardiff City.
Internationally he earned 4 U21 and 1 B Cap for England.
Following the end of his playing career he had a successful media career with regular appearances on Sky Sports and Talk Sport.
He also regularly posted on X – formerly known as Twitter where his daily posts were upbeat and he regularly engaged constructively with supporters. He liked to refer to Thursdays as “dickie bow Thursdays” as he usually wore a bow tie during his Sky Sports appearances on Thursdays.
He still attended Emirates Stadium regularly and would often visit one of the local hostelries where he happily interacted with supporters.
Rest in Peace Super Kevin Campbell, we will miss you.
KAREN POND June 16 2024
