Football Player Profile: Frenchman, Gael Clichy
Gael Clichy is a French International who plays for Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League. Rated as one of the most attacking full backs in English football, alongside Ashley Cole, the Arsenal man has been a regular at the club after Ashley ‘Cashley’ Cole’s transfer to the English Champions, Chelsea.
Clichy was born on 26 July, 1985 in the French city, Toulouse. After a near death experience when he was very young, Clichy went on to play for AS Cannes. Arsene Wenger’s scouts spotted the young Frenchman and Wenger personally convinced his parents to let him join Arsenal. Although they were reluctant at first, after speaking to the Arsenal coach, they were convinced that a move to England would be the best for their son.
Arsenal’s attacking brand of football relies heavily on the full backs making a number of forward runs throughout a game and this was something that helped Ashley Cole a lot when he was coming through the ranks at the club. When Clichy first made it to the first team squad, he had the benefit of being an understudy to one of the best attacking full backs in the game. The experience helped Clichy flourish and become the player he is today. During the time when Ashley Cole was still at the club, Clichy made 62 appearances over three years. Cole impressed with his performances every single time he played and it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the Frenchman became a regular at one of the leading clubs in Europe.
Cole’s move across London to Chelsea proved to be the making of Clichy’s career at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s confidence in him meant that when Cole was sold to Chelsea, Wenger didn’t feel the need to strengthen his team’s left back position because he felt Clichy had grown into the role and would be able to perform at the level required on a consistent basis.
In the season that followed Cole’s departure, Clichy made 39 appearances in total for Arsenal, of which 27 were in the league. Clichy has managed to make the left back position his own since then, becoming the first choice left back at the club despite the presence of other players in the position such as Armand Tarore. His performances in the team caught the eyes of critics and his fellow players too, as he was voted in the PFA Team of the Season after the 2007-2008 Premier League seasons.
Clichy’s form at the club level earned him a call up to the French squad in 2007, and he has been called up on regular occasions since then. The Arsenal man made his debut for the French senior team in a friendly game against Serbia in September of 2008, during France’s qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa. Due to the presence of Patrice Evra, who was made Captain for the tournament, Clichy had very little game time at the World Cup. The French failed to go beyond the group stages which meant that Clichy did not get the chance to display his talent at the international level. Due to his age, though, the Frenchman can look forward to the next World Cup.
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