Since the
sale of Ashley Cole in 2006, Arsenal have not had a reliable left-back. Wenger
put faith in the Englishman and many were hoping that he would be an Arsenal
legend and possible future captain.
I'm quite annoyed that I couldn't find anything without Gervinho!
He departed
for Chelsea on deadline day, leaving many fans annoyed. Clichy was a good enough
replacement (I rated him quite highly), but his frailties soon shone through: his defensive ability wasn't great,
often being caught out of position. The Frenchman’s attacking play didn't cover
up for his lack of defensive qualities either; I remember numerous crosses that
were kicked straight out or over everybody’s heads. Kieran Gibbs looked a good
prospect when Clichy was injured and had his first international call-up at 20,
big things were expected of him, but he had quite a few injuries and Gooners
around the world cringed when Clichy and Gibbs were injured, resulting in the
hapless Traore being deployed at left-back.