Arsenal
Click on one of the Arsenal players below to view their profile to help you choose your dream team.
TM © (2013) THE ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB PLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© OFFICIAL AFC PRODUCT.
Click on one of the Arsenal players below to view their profile to help you choose your dream team.
 "Santi Cazorla")
, Tours and Montpellier<\/p>','<p>The forward started his career at Grenoble, joining the club at the age of 13. Six years later, he was rewarded with his first professional contract.<\/p><p>In the following campaign he scored his first senior goals, the first of them an injury-time winner against Le Havre. Giroud spent the 2007-08 season on loan with French third division side Istres, netting 14 goals.<\/p><p>Tours secured a deal for his signature in 2008, bringing him in on a three-year contract. In two seasons with Tours, Giroud scored 30 league goals. His quality soon caught the eye of Montpellier, who bought him for €2 million in 2010 before loaning him back to Tours for the remainder of the season.<\/p><p>His goal scoring exploits at Tours were rewarded with two awards: he was named in the Ligue 2 Team of the Year and won Player of the Year. In his first campaign at Montpellier, he netted 12 times in Ligue 1. It was in the following term, though, that Giroud announced himself as a player of excellence when leading the line.<\/p><p>He spearheaded Montpellier\'s Ligue 1 title success - the club\'s first ever title - scoring 21 goals in 36 appearances and also notching nine assists. That summer, prior to Giroud representing France at Euro 2012, Arsenal acquired him for a fee in the region of £12 million.<\/p><p><strong>Strengths:<\/strong> Physically very powerful, Giroud is an aerial threat. He is adroit in holding up play and also bringing others into attacks.<\/p><p><strong>Style:<\/strong> Not so much your archetypal target man, Giroud is mobile but his natural role is spearheading attacks.<\/p>') "Olivier Giroud")
 "Theo Walcott")
<\/p>','<p>At the age of 16, Jack Wilshere had already been compared to Arsenal greats Liam Brady and Dennis Bergkamp and had become the club\'s youngest ever representative in league and European football.<\/p><p>Becoming the youngest ever player to appear in the league for Arsenal at the age of 16 years and 256 days, he later scored his first senior goal in a 6-0 hammering of Sheffield United in the Carling Cup as he set about breaking club records aplenty.<\/p><p>Though he continued to be a regular presence on the Arsenal bench after another impressive pre-season in 2009, it was a loan move to Bolton in January 2010 that helped Wilshere flourish and he impressed in a central role at the Reebok Stadium when making 13 league starts under Owen Coyle, scoring his first Premier League goal in a defeat of West Ham in March.<\/p><p>Back in the Arsenal fold, Arsene Wenger gave him his chance and he became a regular in the Gunners midfielder while also becoming one of the first names in the national squad after his senior call-up to the England side in August 2010.<\/p><p>A foot injury sustained in the summer of 2011 ultimately required surgery which ruled him out of the whole of the forthcoming campaign after his recovery was disrupted by an ankle problem.<\/p><p><strong>Strengths:<\/strong> Wilshere\'s technique is superb and for a teenager he possesses very impressive vision and a keen football brain, allowing him to take control of a game. Whether dribbling or passing, he has the ability to prise open a defence.<\/p><p><strong>Style:<\/strong> Precocious, clever, explosive, an exciting talent.<\/p>') "Jack Wilshere")
<\/p>','<p>Arsenal signed Thomas Vermaelen for a reported fee of £10 million in the summer of 2009 and Vermaelen has proven to be a defender of some stature following a brilliant first season in England.<\/p><p>A graduate of the famed Ajax academy, Vermaelen benefitted from a loan spell with RKC Waalwijk before breaking into the Amsterdam club\'s first team in the 2005-06 season. Alongside Johnny Heitinga, now of Everton, Vermaelen continued his progression and enjoyed back-to-back KNVB Cup success in 2006 and 2007.<\/p><p>Having made his Belgium debut in 2006, Vermaelen was enjoying a growing reputation on the continent and with Kolo Toure moving to Manchester City, Arsenal came calling in the summer of 2009. After a prolonged period of negotiations, his arrival was finally confirmed on June 19.<\/p><p>Though Adams, among others, had expressed concerns about his lack of height, Vermaelen quickly impressed in the red and white, scoring on his Premier League debut in a 6-1 rout of Everton. Indeed, after eight games he was Arsenal\'s top scorer with four goals - ensuring he became a firm fans\' favourite. That status never slipped in a superb campaign that saw him named in the PFA Team of the Year.<\/p><p>Alas, his 2010-11 season was plagued by injury and he made just five Premier League appearances. He enjoyed better luck in his third term, though, while he was named as the club\'s vice-captain following Cesc Fabregas\' departure. And in October 2011 he signed a contract extension at Emirates Stadium.<\/p><p><strong>Strengths:<\/strong> Quick, determined and as strong as an ox, Vermaelen is a formidable opponent. He is commanding in the air, despite his relative lack of height, and anticipates and deals with danger well. He attacks the ball with relish and has an eye for goal.<\/p><p><strong>Style:<\/strong> Robust, committed, uncompromising, a tough-tackling defender. <\/p>') "Thomas Vermaelen")
 "Wojciech Szczesny")
 "Lukas Podolski")
 "Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain")
TM © (2013) THE ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB PLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© OFFICIAL AFC PRODUCT.