Sol Campbell: I had lots of problems at Arsenal - and fantastic Portsmouth helped me fall back in love with football

The England defender and Premier League winner was a shock Fratton Park arrival in August 2006, six weeks before his 32nd birthday.

Disillusioned at Arsenal and desperate for a fresh start, he initially focused on finding a club abroad, with Inter Milan and Fenerbahce showing interest, yet it was Juventus where he agreed terms - until new head coach Didier Deschamps stepped in to pull the plug.

According to Campbell in new book Played Up Pompey Four, it was while on England duty at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany that Frank Lampard enquired whether he would be interested in talking to his uncle, Harry Redknapp, over a Pompey switch.

The former Spurs man subsequently spent the next three years at Fratton Park, making 111 appearances, scoring twice, and memorably lifting the FA Cup at Wembley in May 2008.

‘Certain clubs in the Premier League are historically big with big budgets, so everyone saw Pompey as a step down for me - it turned out it wasn’t. I won the FA Cup for a fourth time, regained my England place and played in the Premier League for another three seasons there,’ Campbell told Played Up Pompey Four.

‘Football’s all about passion – and I loved that passion at Pompey. Such a fantastic club. It was a fresh beginning for me after Arsenal, but also reconnected me with people, with players, with supporters. With football.

‘I’d had lots of problems at Arsenal and 2005/06 wasn’t a particularly easy season for me. I wanted a fresh start. For that reason, I was keen to leave the country and play abroad because the whole situation of being in London was no longer right for me, I wanted to concentrate on broadening my horizons in football - but it just didn’t materialise.

‘Inter Milan and Fenerbahce were interested, and Juventus was the closest and nearly happened, however it fell through at the last hurdle. The deal was done but Didier Deschamps, who had recently been appointed head coach, didn’t want me.

‘Juve had just been relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history after being found guilty of match-fixing, while they were also forced to start the next season with minus-30 points, reduced to nine upon appeal.

‘Nonetheless, I was happy to go there, with their hierarchy setting up a move which would involve Arsenal cancelling the final 12 months of my contract by mutual consent and me joining Juve on a three-year deal.

‘The wages were done, the terms were done, I was in Milan waiting for the call to go over and complete everything - but Deschamps told them he didn’t want me. It was off.

‘I joined Pompey because of Harry Redknapp and maybe if it had been anyone else I wouldn’t have gone there. I loved the fact this was a manager who had your back, he knew how you thought and felt.

‘I had something still in the tank but needed the right person to get it out of me in the right environment. Harry’s a top man-manager and, while he can sometimes blow his top, I don’t mind that because that’s passion. He cares about the game, a typical East Londoner, quick with his comments. Some of them are legendary.

‘When I arrived at Pompey, it was about finding myself, rediscovering my love of the game, feeling wanted - and it worked. I felt young again, I was fighting for something once more, wanting to play every second.

‘Sure, the environment wasn’t perfect, yet it was about stripping yourself down, working from scratch, and getting the best out of yourself and people around you. The love and warmth that Pompey and their incredible supporters gave me and others was exactly what I needed at that stage of my career.

‘I felt alive.’

Campbell left Pompey at the end of his contract in July 2009 and later played for Notts County, Arsenal and Newcastle before retiring at the end of the 2010-11 season.

And he reflects on those three years at Fratton Park which he still cherishes, despite considerable success elsewhere in his career.

Campbell added: There were rubbish training pitches often waterlogged, but it re-acquainted me with a type of football and lifestyle I’d had as a youngster growing up - and that was the beautiful thing.

‘I rediscovered myself. It was simple, stripped down, not all gleaming and gold, just about football, and I loved it. Once it’s about football, I come alive and you can’t compete with me. That’s it, I fly.’

Played Up Pompey Four is priced £18.99 and available from the Pompey Store and Waterstone’s in Portsmouth, Fareham, Chichester, Petersfield and Whiteley.

It can also be ordered online from Amazon. For player-autographed copies, email [email protected]

Meanwhile, tickets for the Played Up Pompey Four launch evening at Fratton Park are on sale, with Harry Redknapp, Gareth Evans, Kit Symons, Danny Rose, Kal Naismith, Mark Chamberlain, Richie Reynolds and Tommy Youlden confirming their attendance.

Taking place on Friday, September 27, all ticket proceeds are to be donated to Pompey In The Community and the Pompey History Society.