Łukasz Fabiański

Infobox Football biography|
playername = Łukasz Fabiański


fullname = Łukasz Fabiański
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1985|4|18
cityofbirth = Kostrzyn nad Odrą
countryofbirth = Poland
height = height|m=1.90
currentclub = Arsenal
position = Goalkeeper
clubnumber = 21
youthyears = 1999-2000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
youthclubs = Polonia Słubice
MSP Szamotuły
Lubuszanin Drezdenko
Sparta Brodnica
Mieszko Gniezno
years = 2004-2005
2005-2007
2007-
clubs = Lech Poznań
Legia Warszawa
Arsenal
caps(goals) = 00 (0)
53 (0)
03 (0)
nationalyears =
2006–
nationalteam = Poland U21
Poland
nationalcaps(goals) =
11 (0)
pcupdate = 11 May 2008
ntupdate = 14 September 2008

Łukasz Fabiański ( IPA2|ˈwukaʂ faˈbʲaɲski; born April 18, 1985 in Kostrzyn nad Odrą) is a Polish football goalkeeper, who currently plays for Arsenal in the Premier League and the Poland national team.

Club career

Early career

Beginning his career with the club Polonia Słubice, Fabiański joined the noted independent football academy MSP Szamotuły when he was 14 years old, where he honed his footballing skills.cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article1774760.ece|title=Poland’s new goalkeeping union not keen to send in the clowns|publisher=The Times|date=2007-05-11|accessdate=2007-05-13] He then played for three clubs: Lubuszanin Drezdenko, Sparta Brodnica and Mieszko Gniezno, after which he 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 on the team. After Boruc was sold to Celtic, Fabiański took over as starting goalkeeper in the July 24, 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.

Arsenal

On 8 May 2007, Fabiański underwent medical tests in London after Arsenal agreed an undisclosed fee with Legia Warszawa.cite web

url=http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=465703&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=&title=Gunners+to+pick+up+Pole
title=Gunners to pick up Pole
author=Peter O'Rourke
publisher=Sky Sports
date=2007-05-09
accessdate=2007-05-10

] , with the move confirmed on 11 May 2007 by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.cite web
url=http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=466047&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=TV+Online+exclusive:+Wenger+-+Fabianski+is+set+to+sign
title=Wenger: Fabianski is set to sign
author=Richard Clarke
publisher=Arsenal.com
date=2007-05-11
accessdate=2007-05-11] Fabiański formally signed for Arsenal on 26 May 2007, with a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.cite web|url=http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=468626&lid=NewsHeadline&sub=Polish+goalkeeper+Lukasz+Fabianski+joins+Arsenal&sublid=NewsHeadline&Title=Polish+goalkeeper+Lukasz+Fabianski+joins+Arsenal&f=rss|title=Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski joins Arsenal|date=2007-05-26|accessdate=2007-05-26]

He made his debut for Arsenal on 14 July 2007 in a pre-season friendly against Barnet, replacing Manuel Almunia at half-time. The match ended 2-0 to Arsenal.

He was subsequently made Arsenal's first-choice keeper for their 2007-08 Carling Cup campaign and appeared in all of the club's five matches in the competition. He made his competitive Arsenal debut on 25 September 2007 against Newcastle United in the Carling Cup third round, Arsenal's first match in the competition, keeping a clean sheet as Arsenal won the match 2-0. He kept another clean sheet in the fourth round, a 3-0 away victory at Sheffield United on 31 October 2007, where he also captained the team in only his second competitive match for Arsenal. He also produced several good saves as Arsenal knocked out Blackburn Rovers in the quarter-finals, winning 3-2 in extra time. However, Arsenal were then knocked out of the competition by their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur after losing 5-1 in the second leg of the semi-finals at White Hart Lane.

Fabiański made his Premier League debut on 28 April 2008 in an away match against Derby County and despite conceding two goals, Arsenal won 6-2 and Wenger praised his performance. He kept his place for the following home match against Everton on 4 May 2008, where he was replaced by Jens Lehmann in the 70th minute as the German was given his farewell in front of the home supporters, as well as the final match of the season away at Sunderland on 11 May 2008. After the departure of Jens Lehmann at the end of the 2007-08 season, Fabiański became Arsenal's second-choice goalkeeper, behind Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal career statistics

:"(correct as of 4 May 2008)"

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 March 29, 2006. 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. [ [http://pzpn.pl/a_kadra.php?oid=3777 PZPN.PL - Oficjalny Serwis Polskiego Futbolu ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/players/lukasz-fabianski Arsenal.com profile]
*soccerbase|id=43797|name=Łukasz Fabiański
* [http://pzpn.pl/a_kadra.php?oid=3777 Poland NT official website]

Persondata
NAME= Fabiański, Łukasz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Fabiański, Łukasz
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1985-04-18
PLACE OF BIRTH= Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=