'New Arsenal signing was booed by his team-mates in training session – he was stressed'

Few footballers in the history of the game have incited as much hatred from fans as Sol Campbell does from Tottenham supporters. Perhaps only Luis Figo’s highly controversial move from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000 can match the seismic impact of Campbell’s transfer from Spurs to north London rivals Arsenal.

As hard as it is to imagine now, Campbell was once a beloved figure at Tottenham, rising through the youth ranks to become one of the world’s greatest centre backs while captaining the team. Yet for those who once idolised him, the former England international is now simply referred to as ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’ – or more bluntly, ‘Judas’. That’s due to the shocking events that unfolded on July 1, 2001, when Campbell was revealed as an Arsenal player.

No one outside of Gunners manager Arsene Wenger, chairman David Dein, Campbell and his agent had any inkling of what was about to happen. His move from the Lilywhites to the red and white was so unexpected that only two journalists were present when it was announced, believing they had been called to the club’s London Colney training ground for the announcement of former Ipswich Town goalkeeper Richard Wright. Instead, the towering figure of Campbell walked into the room.

The rest is history. Campbell had two stints with the club, the first from 2001 to 2006 being especially triumphant as he secured two Premier League and FA Cup doubles, including a historic ‘Invincible’ season in 2003/04.

Campbell therefore unsurprisingly has no regrets about the move even though his mere mention causes shudders in N17. Part of the reason is just how good he was and the fact he chose Arsenal, but the cloak and dagger manner of the announcement and the months leading up to the transfer truly amplified the pain.

With his contract running down, Spurs offered Campbell a new deal which would have made him the club’s highest-ever paid player. Campbell had repeatedly given public assurances that he would stay at Tottenham.

The Spurs faithful may have gotten to terms with a transfer to Barcelona or Inter Milan, but a move to Highbury was unthinkable. To rub further salt into their wounds, the Bosman ruling meant Spurs would not get a single penny for the talent they had nurtured since 1989.

Campbell defended his controversial decision by stating simply: “I’m ambitious, I dream about playing football at the top level and this is why I’m here.”

Even at Colney, Campbell’s presence sparked a peculiar response – his new team-mates serenading him with boos during training to brace him for the forthcoming abuse at Tottenham. Reflecting on the jeering, Wenger told German magazine 11 Freunde: “They did that, and they also made jokes about it. The situation was really stressful for Sol and he told me afterwards how severe it became.

“He couldn’t go to certain places for dinner or walk freely in London because of the anger of the Tottenham fans. In hindsight, I’m not sure if I would sign him again bearing in mind the difficulties he faced. I thought he was capable of facing the adversity. For me, it was easy because everybody was conscious that I had signed a great player. But for him, it was more complicated.”

Explaining how the secretive move came about, Wenger also said: “Back then it was a little bit easier to be covert. One of the reasons why is because it wasn’t done until late on. We walked together at one o’clock in the morning to talk about [signing]… because he was paranoid it would be discovered.

“This is a transfer we made with David Dein, at his house, and sometimes we had meetings at 11pm so we could make sure no-one could see us. It is an unbelievable story. We had an agreement that never came out. Sol definitely knew before the last week [of his contract] that he was signing for us. At least, before that he promised to sign for us.”

The day Campbell had dreaded for months finally came on November 17, 2001, when he revisited his old stomping ground White Hart Lane for a Premier League north London derby clash. In anticipation of his return, leaflets were handed out outside the ground asking for a minute of contempt to be shown towards the man they formerly worshipped.

As he emerged from the tunnel, deafening boos echoed around him. Banners labelled him ‘Judas’ and missiles were thrown his way. Campbell, at the time 26, later described to The Guardian the “an inferno of hatred that day” he experienced that day.

He said: “There were bricks thrown at the coach, a burning effigy of me and everybody accepted it, even the good people that were around. ‘Oh, Sol’s big. He can take it.’

“I had to go deep inside myself and I changed. I had to learn in 90 minutes how to deal with those things and how to play a football game. I had to fight a mental battle and I said to myself: ‘I’m just going to win.’ As a football player in a fantastic team, that’s all I could do. But I can’t do that now. I can’t back myself up on the pitch.”

Ray Parlour, another Arsenal legend, was also in the team when they made the short journey across north London that day. He described the scenes outside the stadium as “the scariest I’ve ever been involved in”.

Parlour recalled: “The fiercest game I’ve ever been in was Sol Campbell’s first game back a White Hart Lane. Woah! When you come out of Tottenham you’ve got to do a hard left at a T-junction, and the police were on our coach telling us not to stop, just keep going as quick as you can, and it was dangerous.

“We went round this corner so quickly all the plates came out the cupboards. Smash! We thought the window had gone in!”

The abuse continued for the remainder of Campbell’s career, until the east Londoner hung up his boots in 2011. If there was any question over how Tottenham fans feel today, Campbell in 2023 voiced his sadness at still hearing abusive chants directed at him.

He said: “It’s almost as though people have forgotten how to be human. Wishing and hoping that someone is going to die? And you’re going to be having a party? What world are we living in?”

The wounds have not yet healed in Tottenham. But across in Holloway, adoring chants for Campbell regularly echo around the Emirates Stadium, solidifying his status as a legend who took a daring risk which was vindicated – at least for his career.