Jens Lehmann Bio Send To Friend  

Though there may at times have been doubts over both Lehmann's temperament and also his ability, he has generally been a solid goalkeeper for Arsenal.

The Germany international will never shy away from a confrontation with an opposition player, an attitude which would have surely got him into more hot water had he been an outfield player.

Commanding in his area and a superb shot stopper, many Arsenal fans may wish they had signed Lehmann a few years earlier. But he has never had universal approval and, being in the latter half of his 30s, he will need to be replaced sooner rather than later.

The stopper began his career with Schalke 04, with whom he lifted the UEFA Cup, before moving to AC Milan for the 1998/99 season.

It was an unhappy stay in Serie A and he returned to the Bundesliga after one season to play a big part in Borussia Dortmund's Champions League challenges.

Lehmann won the league title in 2002 and was also a member of the Germany World Cup squads in 1998 and 2002, in addition to their Euro 2000 squad.

He made a combined total of nearly 400 appearances for FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, but the goalkeeper moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2003 as David Seaman's successor, costing in the region of £2.5million.

He made his Arsenal debut in a 1-1 Community Shield draw with Manchester United before his Premiership bow came in a 2-1 home win over Everton.

Although Lehmann did do well in his debut season there were definite doubts about his temperament - and with the ball at his feet.

He was charged by the FA after throwing the ball at Southampton striker Kevin Phillips after his side's victory at St Mary's - for which he was fined £10,000. There were a number of other incidents - such as the needless push on Cristiano Ronaldo in the FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park.

And in October, a foolish bit of footwork outside his own area gifted the ball to Dynamo Kiev's Valentin Belkevich - who duly slotted home the winner for a 2-1 win.

There was talk of Wenger looking to replace Lehmann after only one season, but the Gunners boss insisted the German would remain his number one. After all, he had helped Arsenal to the Premiership title with an unbeaten record.

After more shaky performances in 2004/05, Lehmann lost his place in the side to recent signing Manuel Almunia at the start of December.

But Almunia proved to be even more calamitous, very suspect on crosses and never having the confidence of those in front of him.

Lehmann reclaimed his place in the side in February and has remained number one since then.

The stopper had a few more run-ins with opposition players in the 2005/06 season, most notably against Bolton Wanderers' Kevin Davies who he shoved to the floor petulantly.

But for Arsene Wenger that is part of his determination to succeed.

Lehmann, who was an FA Cup winner with Arsenal in 2005, passed 125 appearances for the club in 2005/06 and was awarded a new one-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2008.

Arsenal may have signed Polish youngster Lukasz Fabianski for the future, but Lehmann remains the club's number one goalkeeper and has the total faith of his manager.