Gael Clichy – Defender of Arsenal F.C. – English Premier League Football Club

Gaël Clichy (born 26 July 1985) is a French footballer who currently plays as a full back for Arsenal in the English Premier League.

Personal information
Date of birth : 26 July 1985 (1985-07-26) (age 24)
Place of birth : Toulouse, France
Height : 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1?2 in)[1]
Playing position : Left back
Club information : Arsenal
Number : 22

Arsenal
After Ashley Cole suffered a fractured foot in October 2005, it seemed that Clichy would earn some valuable first-team action during Cole’s time out; indeed, with rumours linking Cole with a transfer to Spain, it seemed that Clichy could make a strong case for continual first-team action. However, Clichy ironically suffered an injury identical to Cole’s, leaving Arsenal with a crisis at the left-back position.

Clichy returned to first team action on 25 April 2006 in a Champions League semi-final against Villarreal CF, and came on as a substitute for the injured Mathieu Flamini. Clichy suffered a re-occurrence of his injury and missed the end of the season including the Champions League Final, and would not return to the first team until 14 October 2006.

When Cole left for Chelsea in August 2006, Clichy became the first choice left-back at Arsenal. As Cole’s understudy, Clichy made 62 appearances (including 39 in the league) for Arsenal in three seasons. In the season which followed Cole’s departure, Clichy made 27 league appearances in a total of 40, and has since become Arsenal’s first-choice left back. In the 2007–08 season, Clichy was selected in the PFA Team of the Year as left back. This fine form was rewarded on 20 June 2008, when he signed a new “long-term” contract. He came in second in the Arsenal fans’ poll for Player of the Season. He captained Arsenal for the first time against Barnet in Arsenal’s first pre-season game of 2008–09.

Clichy scored his first goal for Arsenal on 1 November 2008, with a late goal against Stoke City, as Arsenal went down 2–1.[3] After being sidelined for several weeks, it was announced in early May that Clichy would miss the remainder of the 2008–09 season due to a back injury.

Source: English Premier League Football Club, Arsenal F.C., Gael Clichy information at wikipedia.org.