Łukasz Fabiański
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Łukasz Fabiański | ||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
Number | 21 | ||
Youth career | |||
1999–2000 | Polonia Słubice | ||
2000-2001 | MSP Szamotuły | ||
2001-2002 | Lubuszanin Drezdenko | ||
2002-2003 | Sparta Brodnica | ||
2003–2004 | Mieszko Gniezno | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2004–2005 | Lech Poznań | 0 | (0) |
2005–2007 | Legia Warszawa | 53 | (0) |
2007- | Arsenal | 27 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2006– | Poland | 18 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:00, 25 April 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:45, 25 April 2011 (UTC) |
Łukasz Fabiański (Polish pronunciation: [ˈwukaʂ faˈbʲaɲski]; born 18 April 1985) is a Polish footballer who plays for English Premier League side Arsenal and the Polish national team as a goalkeeper.
Club career
Early career
Born in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, after starting his career with Polonia Słubice, Fabiański joined the noted independent football academy MSP Szamotuły when he was 14 years old, where he honed his footballing skills.[2] Fabiański then was signed in the 2004-05 season by Lech Poznań.
Legia Warszawa
In the winter of 2005, Fabiański was signed by Legia Warszawa, where he competed with Artur Boruc for a place in the team. After Boruc was sold to Celtic, Fabiański took over as starting goalkeeper in the 24 July 2005 game against Arka Gdynia, which ended 0–0. He helped Legia win the Polish league championship in the following 2005–06 season.
In the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, his performances led to him being awarded the "Football Oscar" for the best goalkeeper in the Polish Ekstraklasa.[2]
Arsenal
On 8 May 2007, Fabiański underwent medical tests in London after Arsenal agreed an undisclosed fee with Legia Warszawa,[3] with the move confirmed on 11 May 2007 by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.[4] Fabiański formally signed for Arsenal on 26 May 2007 with a long-term contract.[5] He made his debut for Arsenal in the Carling Cup against Sheffield United and was captain for the game. Arsenal won that game 3-0, with two goals from Eduardo Da Silva and another from Denilson. Thus far his two most notable appearances for Arsenal have been the 5–1 defeat to rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the 2007–08 League Cup semi final and the first leg of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League second round match with FC Porto. Fabiański received criticism for conceding soft goals in the Porto match as he scored an own goal and was blamed for the 2nd goal after picking up a backpass from Sol Campbell and Porto scored from the resulting free kick.[6] Fabiański played the last 4 games for Arsenal in the 2009-10 season as number 1 goalkeeper Manuel Almunia suffered a wrist injury. He was criticised for conceding soft goals in the defeats to Wigan and Blackburn, however Fabiański was able to keep clean sheets in the games at home to Manchester City and Fulham.[7]
2010–11 season
Fabiański started the 2010–11 season as the second choice goalkeeper. On 21 September 2010, he made his first start of the season in a Carling Cup match against neighbours Tottenham at White Hart Lane which Arsenal won 4-1 after extra time. Fabiański almost cost the game for Arsenal, he failed to stop Robbie Keane's long range effort, despite getting a hand to the shot. After the game, he revealed that he was disappointed. He had a solid game in his second match of the season replacing the injured Manuel Almunia one week later in a Champions League 3-1 away win against FK Partizan. He saved Cléo's second penalty of the game in the second half to deny FK Partizan a lifeline. He later turned Ivica Iliev's effort around the post from point-blank range just before the final whistle. Arsène Wenger later commented that Fabiański had a "faultless" game and they finally saw the player who they usually see in training. He kept his first clean sheet in a win over Manchester City where he made many saves in a game that ended 3-0. He was later named man of the match, on an Arsenal.com poll, after a brilliant display to keep Arsenal in the game.[8] After the City game, Wenger admitted that he could well become the club's number one goalkeeper, after impressive displays in the games since the Partizan match.[9] On 7 November 2010, Fabiański was widely criticised for an error that lead to the only goal as Arsenal lost at home to Newcastle.[10][11] However, he kept a clean sheet in the next Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[12] After the Wolverhampton match, Arsenal played Everton, where Fabiański received the man of the match award from Sky Sports.[13] Arsène Wenger has publicly stated that Łukasz Fabiański can become one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.[14] Fabiański was injured for Arsenal's crucial match with Manchester United but returned for the equally important match with London rivals Chelsea, making many crucial saves in helping Arsenal to win 3–1.[15] On 5 January 2011, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury as he was warming up with the help of Wojciech Szczęsny which ruled him out for the rest of the 2010-11 season.[16]
Career statistics
As of 25 April 2011[update]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Carling Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Clean sheets | Conceded Goals | Apps | Clean sheets | Conceded Goals | Apps | Clean sheets | Conceded Goals | Apps | Clean sheets | Conceded Goals | Apps | Clean sheets | Conceded Goals | ||
Arsenal | 2007–08 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 11 |
2008–09 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 16 | |
2009–10 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 16 | |
2010–11 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 16 | |
Total | 27 | 9 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 56 | 18 | 59 |
International career
Having represented Poland regularly at under-21 level, Fabiański's performances for Legia Warszawa saw him soon making his debut for the senior international team in a friendly against Saudi Arabia on 29 March 2006.[5] He was also reserve goalkeeper for the squad in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, held in Germany. During the qualifying campaign for the UEFA Euro 2008, he made one appearance, playing all 90 minutes in Poland's 2–2 away draw against Serbia on 21 November 2007.[17] In September 2008, Fabiański replaced the suspended Artur Boruc for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Slovenia. He also played in another qualifying match against San Marino in April 2009. His other caps have been in friendlies.
Honours
Legia Warszawa
- Ekstraklasa: 2005–06
- Polish SuperCup: (runner-up) 2006
Individual
- Polish soccer Oscar:
- Best Goalkeeper of Polish Ekstraklasa: 2006, 2007
References
- ^ http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~39969,00.html Premier League Player Profile accessed 12 March 2011
- ^ a b Szczepanik, Nick (11 May 2007). "Poland's new goalkeeping union not keen to send in the clowns". The Times. London. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
- ^ O'Rourke, Peter (9 May 2007). "Gunners to pick up Pole". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
- ^ Richard Clarke (11 May 2007). "Wenger: Fabianski is set to sign". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
- ^ a b "Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski joins Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 26 May 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ Martin Blackburn (19 April 2010). "Flappyhandski 'not to blame'". London: The Sun. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ^ Niall McGlone (17 February 2010). "Porto 2–1 Arsenal: Lukasz Fabiański errors hand Portuguese side the edge". Goal.com. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-we-saw-the-fabianski-we-see-in-training-
- ^ http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/10/24/2181614/arsene-wenger-admits-lukasz-fabianski-could-displace-manuel
- ^ "Fabianski Mistake Hands Newcastle Surprise Win". MinistryOf Glove.com. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
- ^ "Toon Shock Arsenal". Eurosport. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
- ^ "Chamakh brace sinks Wolves". Sky Sports. 10 November 2010.
- ^ Sky Sports http://www.skysports.com/football/user_ratings/0,19768,11065_3293527,00.html.
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(help) - ^ http://www.tribalfootball.com/arsenal-boss-wenger-fabianski-can-be-among-best-594841
- ^ McNulty, Phil (27 December 2010). "Arsenal 3 - 1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ "Op to sideline Fabianski for season". ESPNsoccernet. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ^ "Serbien gegen Polen 2:2" (in German). Fussballdaten. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
External links
- Arsenal.com profile
- Łukasz Fabiański at Soccerbase
- Lukasz Fabianski's national team stats on the website of the Polish Football Association Template:Pl icon
- Use dmy dates from August 2010
- 1985 births
- Living people
- People from Kostrzyn nad Odrą
- Polish footballers
- Poland under-21 international footballers
- Poland international footballers
- Association football goalkeepers
- Lech Poznań players
- Legia Warszawa players
- Arsenal F.C. players
- Persija Jakarta players
- Ekstraklasa players
- Premier League players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- Polish expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in England
- UEFA Euro 2008 players