Johan Djourou... ready to make his mark
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By Chris Harris
Johan Djourou believes he is the man to step into Kolo Toure’s shoes at Arsenal.
It’s just under five years since the Swiss defender made his debut and, slowly but surely, the path to regular first-team football has cleared.
Sol Campbell, Pascal Cygan and now Toure have left the Club while Philippe Senderos appears to have slipped behind Djourou in the pecking order.
Rumours persist that Arsène Wenger may add to his defensive options before the end of August but Djourou – a regular throughout pre-season – wants a chance to stake his claim at the heart of the Arsenal back four.
“I am still young, I have a couple of things I need to work on still and I still want to learn, but I want to step up now. It’s my time,” he said.
“I’ve learned from Kolo, from Sol Campbell when they were at the Club, and now I’ve got that experience that I need to play in those big games, week-in and week-out.
“I signed for Arsenal when I was only 16 so it’s been a good learning process. Centre back is an experienced position, you’ve got all those big players and you can play until you are late in your age, so I think you have to be patient.
“Now I am 22 and you can see that I have learned a lot. For me that has been fantastic and now it is time for me to step up.”
Wenger has always championed Djourou’s cause as he emerged through the Arsenal ranks. He handed the 22-year-old his debut in Carling Cup in October 2004 and has entrusted him with a string of high-pressure games in recent seasons.
“The boss is someone who shows me a lot of confidence,” agreed Djourou.
“He has been a really good mentor for me. He let me go on loan at Birmingham to learn what it’s like to play in the Premier League and when I came back I played a lot of games in the Champions League so it has been good experience.
“Now I want to play more.”
[Monday, August 10, 2009]
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