Laurent Koscielny

Laurent Koscielny profile

Name

Laurent Koscielny

Born

September 10, 1985

Tulle, France

Position

Defender

Squad Number

6

Previous Club(s)

En Avant Guingamp

Tours

Lorient

Joined Arsenal

July 07, 2010

Laurent Koscielny
24 year-old Laurent Koscielny, who is predominantly a central defender, made 40 appearances in all competitions during his season with Lorient in the 2009/2010 campaign.

Before joining the north-west French club Lorient in 2009, Koscielny also played for En Avant Guingcamp and Tours in France, where in 2009 he was voted Best Player in Ligue 2 for the 2008/2009 season by his fellow professionals - the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers in France).

Although born in France, uncapped Koscielny, who helped Lorient to seventh place in the French league championship last season, would also qualify to represent the Poland national team as a result of his family roots.

From arsenal.com

Marouane Chamakh profile

Name

Marouane Chamakh

Born

January 10, 1984Tonneins, France

Position

Striker

Squad Number

29

Previous Club(s)

Bordeaux

Joined ArsenalMay 21, 2010

Marouane

Chamakh (26) joined Arsenal from French side Bordeaux, he made a total of 293 appearances, scoring 79 goals during his eight years with Les Girondins.

In the 2008/09 league campaign, Chamakh scored 14 goals, helping Bordeaux win the French League title, thus ending Lyon's seven-year domination of Ligue 1. The Moroccan striker's fine form continued last season, playing an integral role in helping Bordeaux reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they finished above both Bayern Munich and Juventus in the Group Stages.

Born and raised in France, but playing international football for Morocco through his parentage, Chamakh has made 53 appearances for the north African country, scoring 27 goals, and was part of the side which reached the Final of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nation

From Arsenal.com

Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell profile
Name
Sol Campbell
Born
September 18, 1974 Newham, London
Position
DefenderSquad
Number
31
Previous Club(s)
Tottenham HotspurArsenal
Portsmouth
Notts County
Joined ArsenalJanuary 16, 2010

Campbell (35) spent five seasons at Arsenal between 2001 and 2006 and is a vastly experienced player for both club and country. During his distinguished career, Sol has made 462 appearances in the Premier League and is currently fourth on the all-time Premier League appearances list. Campbell has also been a member of the England squad for six major tournaments between 1996 and 2006.

Originally joining Arsenal in July 2001, Campbell won five major honours with the Gunners, including the league and FA Cup ‘double' in 2002, and was an integral part of the historic ‘Invincibles' squad, which went the entire 2003/04 Premier League season unbeaten.

Manager Arsène Wenger said: "We are delighted to have signed Sol Campbell until the end of the season. For both club and country, Sol's career just speaks for itself. He is a hugely experienced and intelligent footballer, who will bring a great amount of quality and knowledge to our squad. Sol as a player and a person will be an enormous asset to us.

"Sol has been training with us since September and during this time he has shown he still has the required fitness, hunger and passion to compete at the top level."

After completing his move back to the Gunners, Campbell said: "I'm so happy to be rejoining Arsenal. I have many great memories from being here before and still have many friends at the Club. I've been working very hard at the Arsenal Training Ground, I feel really good at the moment and I'm ready to give my all. We're in a strong position and I want to help Arsenal be successful this season."

During his hugely successful first spell at Arsenal, Campbell made a total of 197 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 11 times. Fittingly, he scored in his last appearance in an Arsenal shirt - the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, when the Gunners narrowly lost 2-1 to Barcelona in Paris.

Campbell left Arsenal in the summer of 2006 and joined Portsmouth, where he made 95 appearances in three seasons with the south coast club, during which time he captained the side to their FA Cup Final victory in 2008, Pompey's first major trophy in over 50 years.



From Arsenal.com

Arsenal sign Mikael Silvestre

The French defender joined Arsenal on a two year deal from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee in August 2008.
Silvestre (31), an experienced and versatile player, had been with Manchester United since 1999 winning a host of domestic honours including four Premier League titles, one FA Cup winner’s medal and a League Cup winner’s medal. Silvestre was also part of the UEFA Champions League winning side of 2008 and made a total of 361 appearances for the Manchester side, scoring 10 goals.
Silvestre, who debuted for French national side in 2001, has made a total of 40 appearances for Les Bleus. Highlights of his international career so far are winning the Confederations Cup in both 2001 and 2003 and reaching the World Cup Final in 2006.
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said when signing the player: “We have a strong squad but a young squad and Mikael’s versatility, experience and calibre will provide the extra depth we need to reinforce our challenge for honours this season. His defensive adaptability will serve us well and it’s a big plus that Mikael has top level experience and a great understanding of football in the Premier League

From arsenal.com

New Played Of The Gunner

New Played Of The Gunner

Aaron Ramsey

Aaron Ramsey Factfile
Name
Aaron Ramsey
Born
December 26, 1990
Caerphilly

Wales
Position
Midfielder
Squad Number
16
Previous Club(s)
Cardiff City
Joined Arsenal
June 13, 2008

The Wales Under-21 international Aaron Ramsey signed for the Gunners in June 2008 from Championship side Cardiff City, on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. Although still only 17, Aaron has already represented his country at Under-21 level and became the youngest player ever to represent Wales at this level in August 2007, in a 4-3 victory over Sweden Under-21s. He was also recently called up to the full Welsh squad for their friendly international matches in Iceland and Holland, but was an unused substitute on both occasions. Young midfielder Ramsey progressed through the youth ranks at Cardiff City and also became the youngest ever player to represent the Bluebirds, coming on as a substitute in the League match against Hull City on April 28, 2007, at just 16 years 124 days, breaking the previous record set by John Toshack. Since making his debut for Cardiff City in the 2006/07 season, Ramsey went on to make a total of 22 appearances for the Welsh side, including a substitute appearance in last season’s FA Cup Final against Portsmouth at Wembley Stadium

Samir Nasri

Samir Nasri Factfile
Name
Samir Nasri
Born
June 26, 1987
Marseille

France
Position
Midfielder
Squad Number
8
Previous Club(s)
Marseille
Joined Arsenal
July 11, 2008
French international midfielder Samir Nasri has agreed to join Arsenal from Olympique Marseille on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. Nasri (21), who made two appearances for France in Euro 2008, was voted as the French Ligue 1 'Young Player of the Year' for 2006/07 and was also Olympique Marseille's Player of the Year for 2007. Nasri, has made twelve appearances (scoring twice) for the French national team, making his debut for his country in March 2007 in the 1-0 friendly win over Austria. He was also a French Under-21 international and part of the French Under-17s who won the European Championships in 2004. The young attacking midfielder made 145 appearances (scoring 11 goals) for Olympique Marseille, during which time he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2005, was a French Cup runner-up in 2006 and 2007 and helped his side into third place in Ligue 1 last season, thus securing a UEFA Champions League place for next season. Manager Arsène Wenger said: "We are delighted to be signing Samir Nasri. He is young, quick and technically an outstanding player. He has shown great potential with his performances for Marseille and the French national team over the past two seasons and he will add great quality to our squad." Nasri added: "I'm very happy to become an Arsenal player, it means such a lot to me. This is a very important step in my life as a football player because Arsenal is a massive club. I really hope everything will go well for me here. I will my best for Arsenal and its fans and I am honoured to be part of such a great football club." Samir Nasri is due to join up with his new Arsenal team mates for pre-season training on 21st July..









From http://www.arsenal.com/