Philippe Senderos Bio Send To Friend  

He was snapped up by Arsenal in the summer of 2003 for an undisclosed fee from Servette, but has not reached the required levels of consistency to establish himself fully in the side.

Although a number of top clubs were on the trail of the player, it was Arsenal who won his signature after he was impressed by a trip to the club's training ground.

The player was also tracked by Manchester United, who invited him to Old Trafford to watch a game, and Liverpool, who offered him the chance to train with the club.

Senderos, who was born in Geneva, has a Spanish father while his mother is from Serbia & Montenegro - meaning his international options were varied.

However, he chose Switzerland as his country of origin and captained them to victory in the European Under-17 Championships in 2002.

His first season in England was dogged by injury, starting with a knee injury in pre-season which meant he didn't even appear for the reserves until November.

Senderos finally made his debut against Manchester City in the Carling Cup in October 2004.

With injury problems troubling Sol Campbell, Senderos became increasingly involved in the first team in 2004/05. And his impressive displays led to his full international debut for Switzerland in a World Cup qualifier in France, which finished goalless.

He suffered a dip in form at the start of the 2005/06 season, though boss Arsene Wenger was quick to hail him as an 'immense player'.

His first ever professional goal came in a 3-1 win for Switzerland in Cyprus - and his first Gunners goal soon followed though they lost 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion.

He made his 50th club appearance in 2005/06 and was an integral part of their Champions League run which included a record-breaking run of ten clean sheets.

Although he was injured for the final in Paris, Senderos made his return and played a big part in Switzerland's successful World Cup campaign in Germany, where they reached the knockout stages.

A shoulder injury put paid to his tournament though and he has yet to prove that he is worthy of a first-team berth at Arsenal. The signing of French defender William Gallas did not help his cause and the emergence of Alex Song may hinder him further in the future.

In 2007/08, Senderos was blamed for some slacking marking that allowed Liverpool to beat the Gunners in the Champions League. Criticised in the press, the Swiss defender took time to recover, although was able to play an important part in Switzerland's unsuccessful Euro 2008 campaign.