Lukasz Fabianski

Łukasz Fabiański (; born 18 April 1985 in Kostrzyn nad Odrą) is a Poland association football who currently plays as a goalkeeper for English Premier League club Arsenal F.C. and the Poland national football team.

Club career

Early career

Beginning Lukasz Fabianski career with the club Polonia Słubice, Fabiański joined the noted independent football academy MSP Szamotuły when Lukasz Fabianski was 14 years old, where Lukasz Fabianski honed Lukasz Fabianski footballing skills. Lukasz Fabianski then played for three clubs: Lubuszanin Drezdenko, Sparta Brodnica and Mieszko Gniezno, after which Lukasz Fabianski was signed in the 2004-05 season by Lech Poznań.

Legia Warszawa

In the winter of 2005, Fabiański was signed by Legia Warszawa, where Lukasz Fabianski competed with Artur Boruc for a place on the team. After Boruc was sold to Celtic F.C., Fabiański took over as starting goalkeeper in the 24 July 2005 game against Arka Gdynia, which ended 0-0. Lukasz Fabianski helped Legia win the Polish league championship in the following 2005-06 season.

In the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, Lukasz Fabianski performances led to Lukasz Fabianski being awarded the "Football Oscar" for the best goalkeeper in the Polish Orange Ekstraklasa. with the move confirmed on 11 May 2007 by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. Fabiański formally signed for Arsenal on 26 May 2007, with a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.

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

Lukasz Fabianski was subsequently made Arsenal's first-choice keeper for their 2007-08 Football League Cup campaign and appeared in all of the club's five matches in the competition. Lukasz Fabianski made Lukasz Fabianski competitive Arsenal debut on 25 September 2007 against Newcastle United F.C. in the Carling Cup third round, Arsenal's first match in the competition, keeping a clean sheet as Arsenal won the match 2-0. Lukasz Fabianski kept another clean sheet in the fourth round, a 3-0 away victory at Sheffield United F.C. on 31 October 2007, where Lukasz Fabianski also captained the team in only Lukasz Fabianski second competitive match for Arsenal. Lukasz Fabianski also produced several good saves as Arsenal knocked out Blackburn Rovers F.C. 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 F.C. after losing 5-1 in the second leg of the semi-finals at White Hart Lane.

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

2008–09 season

On 5 November 2008, Lukasz Fabianski made Lukasz Fabianski first appearance of the 2008-09 season aganist Turkish side Fenerbahçe S.K., due to Manuel Almunia getting the flu. (This was also Lukasz Fabianski Champions League debut). The match finished 0-0 with Fabiański keeping a clean sheet.

On 8 November 2008, Lukasz Fabianski made Lukasz Fabianski first Premier League appearance of the season against arch rivals Manchester United F.C., coming on as a second half substitute for first choice goalkeeper Almunia, who suffered a facial injury from a challenge by Michael Carrick. Fabiański produced some fine saves as Arsenal went on to win the game 2-1, thanks to a brace by Samir Nasri.

On 11 November 2008, Lukasz Fabianski received much praise for a stunning double save in the Football League Cup against Wigan Athletic F.C., first denying a shot from Daniel de Ridder with a side push and then showed incredible reflexes and agility to spring up and tip Amr Zaki's close-range effort onto the underside of the crossbar.

On 7 April 2009, Lukasz Fabianski replaced the injured Almunia in the 28th minute against Villarreal CF in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after Almunia suffered an ankle injury and Arsenal were 1-0 down as a result. Fabiański made a good save to deny Marcos Senna before making a quick reaction save for the follow up shot. Lukasz Fabianski stood firm in Arsenal goals and kept Villarreal scoreless for the rest of the match as Arsenal finished with a 1-1 draw thanks to an Emmanuel Adebayor goal.

On 18 April 2009, Lukasz Fabianski 24th birthday, Lukasz Fabianski gifted Chelsea F.C. a victory in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium, when Lukasz Fabianski rushed out to meet Didier Drogba's goal attempt. However, the Ivorian striker managed to sidestep Fabiański to put the ball into an empty net, thus giving Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Arsenal.

On 21 April 2009, few days after the match against Chelsea for which Lukasz Fabianski was heavily criticised, Lukasz Fabianski managed to stop Liverpool F.C. on its march for the Premiership title. The game ended 4-4 with Fabiański being praised by fans and journalists for Lukasz Fabianski parades that saved Arsenal from losing three goals in the first 15 minutes. In a post-match summaries, Lukasz Fabianski was mostly ranked second man of the match, behind Andrei Arshavin, who netted four.

After that amazing game at Anfield, Fabiański was droppped to the bench for Arsenal's next Premier League game against strugglers Middlesbrough F.C. after first team goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, was fit after an ankle injury. Arsenal went on to win the game 2-0, captain Cesc Fàbregas scored a brace. In Arsenal's next Premier League outing against Portsmouth F.C., Fabiański started the match despite Almunia being fit; the only reason why Almunia didn't play was that Lukasz Fabianski was being rested for the Gunners' Champions League semi-final second leg against rivals Manchester United F.C.. Arsenal went on to beat Portsmouth 0-3 at Fratton Park, with Nicklas Bendtner scoring twice and the Mexican Carlos Vela scored Lukasz Fabianski first Premier League goal for Arsenal.

It was confirmed on June 12 that Fabianski had signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal.

Arsenal career statistics

International career

Having represented Poland regularly at under-21 level, Fabiański's performances for Legia Warszawa saw Lukasz Fabianski soon making Lukasz Fabianski debut for the senior international team in a friendly against Saudi Arabia national football team on 29 March 2006. In September 2008, Fabiański replaced the suspended Artur Boruc for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Slovenia. Lukasz Fabianski also played in another qualifying match against San Marino national football team in April 2009. Lukasz Fabianski 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