Gaël Clichy

Gaël Clichy

Personal information
Height	1.91m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Left back
Team information
Current team	Arsenal
Number	22

Gaël Clichy (born July 26, 1985 in Toulouse) is a French football player, who currently plays for Arsenal of the English Premier League.

Biography

Signed by Arsène Wenger in the summer of 2003 from AS Cannes for £250,000, Clichy plays the position of left back for Arsenal, although he has had to be content with playing understudy to England international Ashley Cole. However, he has still made 46 appearances (including 27 in the league) for Arsenal in the two seasons he has been at the English club.

After Ashley Cole suffered a fractured foot, it seemed that Clichy would earn some valuable first-team action (for the several months that Cole would be out); indeed, with the rumours linking Cole with a transfer to Spain, it seemed that Clichy could make a strong case for continual first-team action. However, in a bizarre turn of events, Clichy suffered an exactly identical injury to Cole's, leaving Arsenal with a crisis at the left-back position.

Remarkably, Wenger was then forced to play five different players at left back, mainly due to injury problems and international call-ups: central defender Pascal Cygan, right back Lauren, central defender Philippe Senderos, central midfielder Sebastian Larsson, and most recently central midfielder Mathieu Flamini. Such was the crisis in defence that Wenger, at one point, had eight first team defenders either injured or at the African Cup of Nations.

He is the youngest winner of a Premiership medal which he earned in his first season with Arsenal for his 12 appearances in 2003-04.

Gaël Clichy returned to first team action on April 25, 2006 in a Champions League semi-final against Villarreal, and came on as a substitute for the injured Mathieu Flamini. In this game, the referee judged Clichy to have bundled over an opposition player in the final minute of the game, and awarded a penalty. Replays show that there was minimal contact and Arsenal, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved Riquelme's penalty. Clichy suffered a re-occurrence of his injury and missed the end of the season including the Champions League Final.

With Ashley Cole leaving for Chelsea, Clichy is now expected to be first choice left back at Arsenal, once he returns to full fitness. He returned to the team as substitute, coming on against Watford on the 14th October.

Honours

FA Premier League Winner: 2003-04

FA Cup: 2004-2005

Champions League Runner-Up: 2005-2006

Club career

(correct as of July 13, 2006)

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	2003-04	12	0	0	9	0	1	0	22	0
	2004-05	15	0	0	7	0	2	0	24	0
	2005-06	7	0	0	0	0	4	0	11	0
Career totals									57	0

External links

• Statistics at soccerbase.com