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Łukasz Fabiański

Personal information
Date of birth	18 April 1985 (1985-04-18) (age 24)
Place of birth	Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	21
Youth career
1999–2000	Polonia Słubice
2000–2001	MSP Szamotuły
2001–2002	Lubuszanin Drezdenko
2002–2003	Sparta Brodnica
2003–2004	Mieszko Gniezno
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2005	Lech Poznań	0	(0)
2005–2007	Legia Warszawa	53	(0)
2007–	Arsenal	9	(0)
National team‡
	Poland U-21
2006–	Poland	14	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 July 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 July 2009

Łukasz Fabiański (Polish pronunciation: [ˈwukaʂ faˈbʲaɲski]; born 18 April 1985 in Kostrzyn nad Odrą) is a Polish footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for English Premier League club Arsenal and the Polish national football 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.^[2] 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 24 July 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.^[2]

Arsenal

On 8 May 2007, Fabiański underwent medical tests in London after Arsenal agreed an undisclosed fee with Legia Warszawa,^[3] with the move confirmed on 11 May 2007 by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.^[4] Fabiański formally signed for Arsenal on 26 May 2007, with a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.^[5] Thus far his two most notable appearances for Arsenal have been the 5-1 defeat to rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the 2007/08 Carling Cup semi final and the first leg of the 2009/10 Champions League second round match with Porto. After both matches Fabiański received criticism for conceding soft goals.^[6]

Arsenal career statistics

(correct as of 24 January 2010)

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 29 March 2006.^[5] 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.^[7] In September 2008, Fabiański replaced the suspended Artur Boruc for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Slovenia. He also played in another qualifying match against San Marino in April 2009. His other caps have been in friendlies.

Honours

Legia Warszawa

• Ekstraklasa: 2005-06
• Polish SuperCup: 2006 runner-up

Individual

• Polish soccer Oscar:
  • Best Goalkeeper of Polish Ekstraklasa: 2006, 2007

References

External links

• Arsenal.com profile
• Łukasz Fabiański career stats at Soccerbase
• Poland NT official website

Poland squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Boruc • 2 Jop • 3 Gancarczyk • 4 Baszczyński • 5 Kosowski • 6 Bąk • 7 Sobolewski • 8 Krzynówek • 9 Żurawski • 10 Szymkowiak • 11 Rasiak • 12 Kuszczak • 13 Mila • 14 Żewłakow • 15 Smolarek • 16 Radomski • 17 Dudka • 18 Lewandowski • 19 Bosacki • 20 Giza • 21 Jeleń • 22 Fabiański • 23 Brożek • Coach: Janas

Poland squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Boruc • 2 Jop • 3 Wawrzyniak • 4 Golański • 5 Dudka • 6 Bąk • 7 Smolarek • 8 Krzynówek • 9 Żurawski • 10 Garguła • 11 Saganowski • 12 Kowalewski • 13 Wasilewski • 14 Żewłakow • 15 Pazdan • 16 Piszczek • 17 Łobodziński • 18 Lewandowski • 19 Murawski • 20 Guerreiro • 21 Zahorski • 22 Fabiański • 23 Kokoszka • Coach: Beenhakker