News broke yesterday that Arsenal defender Johan Djourou will be sidelined for up to three months. The Swiss centre-back will undergo surgery on a troublesome knee cartilage injury that has seen him fail to make an appearance this season. While the news is not positive for the player and his team, Djourou’s injury will give compatriot Philippe Senderos a second and possibly final chance to make his mark at Arsenal.

Switzerland international Senderos has been at Arsenal for six years, signing from local side Servette at the age of eighteen. Since his transfer, Senderos has failed to cement a first-team spot at the club and has managed just over sixty league games in his time in North London. He seemed seemed destined to leave Arsenal in the transfer window after coming agonisingly close to a move to Everton, while Hull and Fulham were also said to be interested.

Although Senderos has only featured sporadically in his time at the Gunners, he has played often enough for us to know that he does have plenty of potential. He was part of the famous backline that kept ten straight clean sheets in their run to the Champions League final in 2006, and started Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Manchester United in 2005.

Unfortunately for ‘Big Phil’, he is prone to the odd brain explosion. Lapses of concentration or sheer clumsiness have hindered his chances at establishing himself at Ashburton Grove. Despite his aerial strength, admirable toughness and intimidating presence, Senderos’ inconsistency saw him leave Arsenal last season for a year on loan at AC Milan, making fifteen appearances for the Rossoneri.

While Arsenal’s first-choice defensive pairing will undoubtedly be Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas, neither of the Gunners’ two heroic defenders will play every game in the next six months. While it may not seem like it at the moment, Vermaelen and Gallas are not inconquerable and will suffer from fatigue and/or injury.

With Arsenal set to play around thirty matches before Djourou returns, Philippe Senderos must take every opportunity from here on in if he wishes to make it at Arsenal. There will be no time for brain snaps or clumsy challenges, and Senderos must replicate the form that he showed three years ago when he led Arsenal to the Champions League final.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 6th, 2009 at 11:11 AM and is filed under Arsenal, Johan Djourou, Philippe Senderos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.