Johan Djourou

Name Johan Djourou
Born January 18, 1987
Ivory Coast
Position Defender
Squad Number 20
Previous Club(s) Etoile Carouge FC
Joined Arsenal August 01, 2003
Arsenal Debut Manchester City (a)
Carling Cup 3rd Round
October 27, 2004,
Won 2-1


20. Johan Djourou


Johan returned to the Club in January after a loan spell at Birmingham City.

The Swiss youngster had an extremely impressive start to the 2006/07 campaign and ended up with 30 Arsenal appearances under his belt. The centre back made his debut in the 7-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Highbury in January 2006 and, that summer, became one of the youngest players on show at the World Cup in Germany. At the start of the season he had 11 caps.

Although he is now an established centre back, he played in central midfield in his early days. He has been used in that position by Arsène Wenger as well as at full back on either side. Strong, fast and blessed with a solid technique, Johan has a bright future ahead of him.

                                            My Year

April

Now fully fit, Johan spent a lot of time in the first-team squad in April. The Swiss defender appeared on the bench twice, coming on for the final 12 minutes against Derby.

March

Injury continues to blight the return of Johan, but the road to recovery is getting easier as he featured twice for Neil Banfield’s reserves.

February

Johan spent February still recovering from a groin problem that has restricted him to just 45 minutes of football in 2008.

January

Johan returned to the Club after his loan spell at Birmingham came to an end. The Swiss centre-back played for just 45 minutes in the Carling Cup against Tottenham before suffering an injury that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the month.

May

Johan Djourou’s breakthrough season ended with a full 90 minutes in the goalless draw at Portsmouth. The Swiss international helped the Gunners keep a clean sheet but saw his team-mates draw a blank at the opposite end. Johan ended the season having made 30 appearances.

April

A very quiet month for Johan as he made no first-team appearances for the Gunners. The Swiss international was named on the bench for the visits of Manchester City and Fulham but was not used. The 20-year-old did make one appearance for the Reserves, heading the only goal in a 1-0 win at Fulham.

March

March was a mixed month for Arsenal and so it proved to be for Johan. The Swiss defender played a full 90 minutes in the wins over Reading and Aston Villa but had to settle for a place on the bench for the Champions League exit at the hands of PSV Eindhoven. The 20-year-old was not in the squad for the defeats at Everton and Liverpool. He did feature twice for his country however in friendlies against Jamaica and Colombia.

February

Johan appeared twice for Arsenal in February and was on the winning side on both occasions. The young Swiss defender managed 51 minutes of the 2-1 comeback victory over Wigan at Emirates Stadium and 92 minutes of the 3-1 FA Cup replay win at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium. He was also an unused substitute for three matches, including the Carling Cup Final defeat in Cardiff. Johan picked up an ankle knock at the end of the month but it was not thought to be serious.