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Soccer-Campbell determined to make most of Arsenal chance

(removes extraneous word in second par) Nov 10 (Reuters) - Joel Campbell intends to fight for his place in the Arsenal first team after the Costa Rican winger has seen his playing time increase despite regular talk of a move away from the Emirates throughout the summer transfer window. Loaned out for a majority of his Arsenal career, Campbell has made the most of the an ongoing injury crisis, starting back-to-back Premier League games for the first time as injuries have ravaged the side's midfield. Campbell, who scored on his first league start against Swansea City at the end of October, insists he is ready to capitalise on any opportunity that comes his way. "I'm an Arsenal player and I'm very happy here. I'm fighting to achieve my aims and hope to stay here for a long time," the 23-year-old told the club's website (www.arsenal.com). "Obviously, as a player you always want to play but we have lots of very good players here, so you have to be patient and make the most of your opportunity when it comes around. "I'm trying to take advantage of my opportunity but I know that what happens next is up to the manager. As I've said, I'm just focusing on playing and performing as well as possible and the rest is up to him," he added. Arsenal ended a run of five successive league wins when they were forced to come from behind to secure a 1-1 home draw against derby rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. Defender Per Mertesacker pinned their limp first-half display on tiredness after their midweek 5-1 thrashing by German champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League. "It was fun to play but we all looked a bit knackered, especially in the first half and we gave absolutely everything to get a draw here and we will enjoy next weekend off, a few of us, then back to duty the next week," Mertesacker said. Arsenal, who trail table-toppers Manchester City on goal difference, travel to West Bromwich Albion when the league resumes after the international break on Nov. 21. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)