Sol Campbell is one of the greatest Premier League centre-backs of a generation but the former Arsenal star was far from invincible as he was knocked down a few pegs by Bobby Zamora
Bobby Zamora was told he was a “dead man walking” after embarrassing Sol Campbell at Highbury.
The former West Ham United striker left one of the greatest Premier League centre-backs of an era on his backside in humiliating fashion during a London derby clash in 2006 as Zamora’s West Ham stunned Arsenal in a 3-2 victory.
Zamora, who turned 44 on Thursday, joined the Irons from Tottenham in 2004 after failing to make the grade at Arsenal’s north London rivals, but he put a smile on every single Spurs fan’s face that night as he latched onto a clipped pass. Zamora chested the ball towards the goal as Campbell attempted to grapple with him, but the two-time England international shrugged him off with ease, leaving the big defender in a pile on the turf.
While Campbell remained on the deck, Zamora whipped a left-footed effort into the far top corner to double the Hammers’ advantage shortly after the half-hour mark.
Speaking previously on the Under The Cosh Podcast, Zamora said his mates thought he was a “dead man walking” because he’d told Campbell to “f*** off” moments after the goal.
“I managed to stick Sol Campbell on his a**e,” the ex-England striker recalled. “I know a lot of my pals thought I was a dead man walking, the West Ham boys. Before the game, the lads were like, ‘F*** me, Sol’s going to smash you to pieces. He’s going to kick you up in the air’. I was like, cheers boys.
“As it happens, I managed to stick him on the floor, take a touch and whip it into the top corner. So my celebration was, ‘F*** off, Sol’ … but I was just saying it for the boys.”
Fortunately for Zamora, he avoided a potential post-match dust-up with Campbell as the defender bizarrely went AWOL mid-match after suffering something of an existential crisis. Campbell was at fault for both Zamora’s goal and Nigel Reo-Coker’s opener, and requested he be substituted at half-time.
He then left the stadium and disappeared for a few days, fleeing to Brussels for a cooling off period as the club scrambled to get a hold of him. Campbell eventually returned to action two months later, but quit the Gunners at the end of the season.