Philippe Senderos

Philippe Sylvain Senderos (born 14 February 1985) is a Swiss retired professional footballer who played as a defender.

Senderos began his career at Servette, before moving to England as a teenager with Arsenal.

On 27 July 2002, Senderos scored a brace (and his first goal) in a 2–0 win over Luzern.

Senderos signed for Arsenal in December 2002, though he remained working at Servette until the following summer.

Shortly after joining Arsenal, Senderos' father and agent said Senderos rejected a move to Real Madrid in favour of joining Arsenal.

Senderos himself claimed he made the right decision joining the Gunners.

Shortly after joining Arsenal, Senderos' start did not come as planned after he suffered a recurrence of a back problem for six weeks and another injury on a fractured bone in his foot, leaving him out for the rest of the season.

During the season, Arsenal went undefeated and won the league.

Senderos was an unused substitute when Arsenal won the Community Shield against Manchester United ahead of the 2004–05 season.

He made his debut as a starter in a 2–1 win against Manchester City in the third round of the League Cup on 27 October 2004, and played his first Premier League match on 1 January 2005 as an 82nd-minute substitute for the injured Sol Campbell.

Profiting from Campbell's injury, Senderos finished his first Premier League season with 13 appearances.

He made 116 appearances over seven seasons with the North London club, and won the FA Cup in 2005.

A full Swiss international from 2005 to 2016, Senderos won 57 caps and scored 5 goals.

Despite Campbell's recovery, Senderos played the 2005 FA Cup final in his place, and won his first piece of silverware as Arsenal triumphed on penalties after a 0–0 draw with Manchester United.

After the season, Senderos committed his long-term future by signing an improved five-year deal.

In the 2005 FA Community Shield, he was beaten by Didier Drogba for both goals as Arsenal lost 2–1 to Chelsea.

During the 2005–06 season, he scored his first Arsenal goal in a 2–1 loss to West Bromwich Albion on 15 October, and again in a 7–0 win over Middlesbrough on 14 January.

He played in Arsenal's run to the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005–06, but was an unused substitute in the final, which Arsenal lost to Barcelona.

On 29 November 2006, Senderos was sent off for the first time in his career, in the 66th minute of Arsenal's 2–1 loss at Fulham for two bookings for offences on Luís Boa Morte.

Later in the season, on 3 February 2007, he was sent off for the second time, a straight red card for a foul in the penalty box on Middlesbrough striker Yakubu.

Senderos received his third red card on 2 September 2007 after denying Nwankwo Kanu of Portsmouth a clear goalscoring opportunity, although Arsenal went on to win 3–1.

In his last full season at the club (2007–08), Senderos added 2 more goals from 17 Premier League appearances: in a 3–2 win against Sunderland on 7 October and the fourth minute of a 2–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on 11 February.

Senderos eventually fell out of favour with Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.

He was included in the Swiss squads for three FIFA World Cups and at UEFA Euro 2008.

Senderos came up through the youth team set up at Swiss club Servette.

After a few appearances in his first season, he soon became a regular player in the first team.

On 27 August 2008, he joined Italian club AC Milan on a season-long loan.

Senderos described joining Milan as a "dream come true".

He quickly incurred an injury and struggled to make the first team ahead of centre-backs Paolo Maldini and Kakha Kaladze, but finally made his first full appearance for the Rossoneri in a UEFA Cup group stage match against Braga, and came on as a substitute for his first Serie A appearance, against Fiorentina, approximately halfway through the season.

Despite wanting his move at Milan to be permanent, Senderos returned to Arsenal after 14 Serie A appearances.

Following loans to Milan and Everton, he then moved to Fulham on a free transfer in 2010, where he played for four seasons.

Senderos then had brief spells at clubs in Spain, England, Scotland, Switzerland and the United States.

Senderos made only two appearances for Arsenal in 2009–10, both in the League Cup, and on 25 January 2010, he joined Everton on loan for the remainder of the season, where he wore the number 23, vacated by the departure of Lucas Neill.

He made his first appearance for the club in a 1–0 win away against Wigan Athletic.

He returned to Arsenal at the end of the season having made only three appearances, two in the Premier League and one in the UEFA Europa League.

On 8 June 2010, Senderos signed a three-year deal with Fulham on a free transfer.

On 9 August, while training, Senderos tore his Achilles tendon, keeping him out for six months.

He underwent surgery and was expected to be out for 6 months.

He finally made his debut for Fulham on 30 April 2011 against Sunderland.

On 21 April 2012, he scored his first Premier League goal since joining Fulham as they defeated Wigan Athletic 2–1 at Craven Cottage.