Along the way, he helped Arsenal go a record ten Champions League matches without conceding a goal - a feat which looked highly unlikely midway through the season - and helped the Gunners make it to the Champions League final for the first time. However, during the final, Lehmann was infamously sent off in for bringing down Samuel Eto'o - and Arsenal eventually went down 2-1.

Despite this psychological burden, Lehmann had an outstanding 2006 World Cup. Playing in his home country, Lehmann finally displaced Oliver Kahn as German number one and helped his country into the semi-finals by defeating Argentina on penalties. Germany eventually went out, but Lehmann impressed with his displays and will continue as first choice keeper.

The big German's playing style often gets him into trouble, as he often likes to come off his line to claim loose balls. This however opens him up to sometimes making the odd error or two - which still adds a degree of unpredictability to his usual solidarity in front of goal. Most fans are happy for him to continue in goal for Arsenal, but some may be looking to younger alternatives as Lehmann inevitably heads towards the end of his career.

Full name	Jens LEHMANN
Position	Goalkeeper
Born	10 November 1969, Essen, Germany
Country	GERMANY
Height	190
Weight	87

Career

Joined	Friday, 25 July 2003
Debut	Charity Shield v Manchester United (n) 10 August 2003 (Drew 1-1) (Man Utd won 5-4 on penalties)
Previous clubs	BV Borussia Dortmund AC Milan FC Shalke 04
Honours	1996/97 UEFA Cup (Schalke 04) 2001/02 German Bundesliga (Dortmund) 2003/04 English Premier League 2004/05 English FA Cup