GAEL CLICHY PROFILE

Gaël Clichy

Gael Clichy is the last player in Arsenal ‘Invincibles' squad before he moved to Manchester City at 2011. He became the youngest player to win a Premier League in 2004 at the age of 18.

Fleet of foot, quick of brain and blessed with a great engine, he is a consistent, persistent performer in defense. He loves to get forward too and scored goals.

Gael Clichy successfully replaced defender Ashley Cole when Cole suffered a fractured foot in October 2005. But unfortunately, his hope to be the first-choice for left back should be halted after he suffered the same injury as Cole just a month later. Clichy returned to first team on 25 April 2006 in a Champions League semi-final against Real Villarreal, coming on as a substitute for the injured Mathieu Flamini, but later suffered a re-occurrence of his injury and missed the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona.

But he return to the first team on October 2006, after Cole moved to Chelsea. Then Clichy become the Gunners' first-choice left back in the process, and Flamini back into a defensive midfielder.

He was rewarded for his fine form on 20 June 2008 when he signed a new long-term contract. Clichy scored his first goal for Arsenal on 1 November 2008, with a late goal against Stoke City, as Arsenal went down 2–1. 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.

Clichy called up for the France national squad in 2007, and his senior international debut for France occurred on September 2008 in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Serbia. He played once in World Cup 2010 when France lost 1-2 to South Africa. With the departure of coach Raymond Domenech, he has secured a more regular place in the France national team.

Gael Clichy profile:

Full name: Gaël Clichy

Date of birth: July 26, 1985 in

Place of birth: Toulouse, France

Height  1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)

Position : Defender (left wingback)

Squad number: 22

Previous club: AS Cannes

Joined Arsenal: August 04, 2003
Moved to Manchester City: 2011

National team: 2004–2005 France U21

                         2008– …. France