Arsenal agree season-long loan deal with Sporting Lisbon for Joel Campbell

Sporting Lisbon have agreed a loan deal for Arsenal forward Joel Campbell and the Costa Rican will move to Portugal for the rest of the season. The 24-year-old made 42 appearances for club and country last season, scoring five goals and assisting six in the process.

O Jogo reports that the Portuguese club came in agreement with the Gunners over a transfer and he is set to reunite with his national teammate Bryan Ruiz before the end of the summer. Campbell is already in Lisbon to undergo a medical and sign a contract for his departure from the Emirates, at least till the end of this season.

It is a surprising move by Arsene Wenger, with the Gunners short up front, and especially with Danny Welbeck out until the end of the year with a knee problem.

Campbell put in a shift when called upon last season and was also very productive in the Gunners' pre-season campaign, where they managed four wins and a draw.

Meanwhile, the Gunners have not progressed much on the transfer front, with Arsene Wenger still in the market for a striker and a defender. The Gunners are reportedly close to a deal for Shkodran Mustafi but no fee has been agreed for the defender.

When asked about Mustafi, Wenger told Arsenal's official website ahead of their game against Leicester City, "I believe it is better I don't speak about any individual player. We are working very hard.

"You are absolutely convinced that I don't want to spend the money, but I would like to reassure you that we are ready to spend the money we have. As always, not the money we haven't got [because] it is not my money."

"I told you already what are the criteria for the price of a player but you could add one more: the identity of the buyer. When the buyer is English, it is true that it multiplies the transfer by two or three or sometimes by 10 because if for the same player an English club does not come in, he is worth five million. But if an English club comes he is worth 35 or 40 or 50."