About

Gaël Clichy is a French football player whose main position is at left-back.
Clichy is one of the most attacking full backs in the Premier League. As one of the fastest players in the Premiership, he is never hesitant to overlap his left midfielder, usually Tomáš Rosický, and join in with the attack. Gaël contributes to a lot of goals via crosses from advanced positions on the left wing. His dribbling has improved immensely since his arrival at Arsenal and the natural width provided by himself is indispensable in helping Arsenal to attack.
Defensively, Clichy has matured with every match. His electrifying pace and energy gives him the ability to dispossess the attacker of the ball at the first opportunity possible. He has been known to totally shut down his side of the field to opponents' attack. He is the only Arsenal player to have played in every Premier League match in the 2007–08 season so far, and is known affectionately by Arsenal fans as "Mr Consistent". He frequently tops the Opta statistics for best defenders in the Premiership. Arsenal fans nickname him "Gaelforce" because of his pace.

Clichy continues to improve and at only 22 years old, can potentially turn out to become a world class footballer in the impending future.

Background

In his early years, after climbing over a metal fence, a ring he was wearing got caught and tore his finger off.[4] He had a seven-hour operation to sew it back on, but during the operation, his heart stopped beating due to a problem with his lungs. After 15 seconds it restarted and, thankfully, he recovered. Doctors described it as a "miracle" that Clichy survived. His mother had the resources to help him recover after years of experience in medical school as a nurse.

Club Football

Clichy currently plays for Arsenal Football Club at the position of left back, although he had to be content with playing understudy to England international Ashley Cole during his first three seasons at the club. His 12 appearances in the Premiership in Arsenal's victorious 2003-04 season were enough to earn him a winners medal. In doing so, he set the record for youngest winner of a Premiership champions medal.
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 April 25, 2006 in a Champions League semi-final against Villarreal, 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.

International Football

In 2007 Clichy was called up for the French national squad. He was called up again in January 2008, for the French game against Spain, and the 5 February 2008 B friendly against Congo DR. Recently, he has been picked in the French squad for the Euros. However, he has yet to earn his first cap for his national team.

International Goals

Awards and Honours

Personal Awards

Career Statistics

M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists

Personal Info

Wife / Girlfriend

Sponsors

Important Links

References