Is Sol Campbell’s wife behind Arsenal snub?

Could it be that Sol Campbell's decision to turn his back on Arsenal and move to Newcastle United is down to the influence of the newly-married defender's wife Fiona Barratt - who hails from the North East.

The pair were married earlier this month in the village of Cornridge, just 20 miles from Newcastle and near the home of her grandfather, Sir Lawrence Barratt, who founded Barratt Developments.

And although the couple, who became an item in 2008, own homes in London and Northumberland it seems that Fiona has decided that she prefers life at the northern end of the M1. Before the wedding Fiona, who is an interior designer, said that she hoped to have four children and wanted to raise them in the north.

And it is being claimed that Campbell's decision to look for a move to Newcastle came after Geordie Fiona convinced him that his future lies nearer the Tyne than the Thames.

The news is unlikely to be well received at Arsenal, the club that offered him a route back to the big time after he walked out on Division Two Notts County last autumn.

Campbell, who had a medical at Newcastle on Tuesday, rejoined Arsenal in January and made several first team appearances for the Gunners last season. Although he only agreed a short term deal with Arsene Wenger, which expired at the end of last season, it was widely assumed that he would sign on for another season at the club he represented for five years between 2001 and 2006.

Now it seems that the 35-year-old will be one of several veteran defenders to leave the club this summer along with William gallas and Mikael Silvestre.

But there is a certain irony in Campbell's decision to swap London in favour of the north-east at his wife's behest that won't be lost on former Sunderland boss Roy Keane. In 2007 while in charge of the Black Cats, Keane lashed out at the influence of WAGs over the modern footballer.

He complained he was finding it hard to attract players to Sunderland and lamented: "This side of it, with the women running the show, concerns me and worries me.

"If someone doesn't want to come to Sunderland then all well and good. But if they don't want to come to Sunderland because their wife wants to go shopping in London, then it is a sad state of affairs. What is your priority? Your wife and her shopping, money or your football?

"Unfortunately that is what is influencing a lot of footballers' decisions. Priorities have changed for footballers and they are being dictated to by their wives and girlfriends." ·