6. Philippe Senderos

It was a surprise to some when the transfer deadline came and went without Philippe leaving Arsenal but he is still here and could be a valuable member of Arsène Wenger's squad this season.

The Swiss defender landed a prestigious loan move last term, spending the entire campaign at the San Siro with Italian giants Milan. After a frustrating, injury-hit start to life in Serie A, he made 20 appearances and will have learned plenty from luminaries such as Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta.

You can see why Milan were interested in Philippe. He was outstanding against the Rossoneri when Arsenal beat them over two legs in the Champions League in 2008. He replaced the injured Kolo Toure after seven minutes of the first leg against the reigning European champions and helped to snuff out the threat of Kaka, Alexandre Pato and company before repeating the trick in the San Siro 13 days later.

Philippe's tenacity, aerial power and will to win are valuable assets and he tends to thrive when he gets a run in the side. That was certainly the case in his last season at Emirates Stadium when William Gallas was unavailable and Philippe contributed to six clean sheets in his first eight games. He made 31 appearances in total during the 2007/08 campaign and popped up with a couple of goals too.

A similar tally is not out of the question this season, particularly with fellow Swiss defender Johan Djourou sidelined by injury and Arsenal hoping to challenge on all fronts for silverware.

It's easy to forget that Philippe is still a young player because he seems to have been around for a while, not just at Arsenal but at international level too. He was part of the Swiss defence which did not concede a goal at the 2006 World Cup and played every minute of his country's campaign at Euro 2008. He has been a regular in Switzerland's World Cup qualifying campaign too.

 

MY YEAR

October

Philippe played in the 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Carling Cup and scored twice for Switzerland in a 3-0 win over Luxembourg. That win, coupled with a draw against Israel, ensured the Swiss national team a place in next summer's World Cup.

September

Phillipe made his first start of the season against West Brom in the Carling Cup. Manager Arsène Wenger described the match as a "new start" for the centre-half who spent last season on loan at AC Milan. The player himself described his return as "like coming back home".

August

Having returned from a season-long loan spell at AC Milan over the summer, the Swiss defender sat out each of Arsenal's August fixtures.

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