Pascal Cygan

Lille

Cygan started his senior career at lowly ES Wasquehal before going professional with Lille OSC in 1995, making his Division 1 debut that year but also going on to spend three seasons in Division 2. In 1999–2000 he was an instrumental defensive element for the champions and, in the subsequent top-flight campaign, helped them achieve a third-place finish, with qualification for the UEFA Champions League. In this time, Cygan was also promoted to the captaincy, seen as a role model to help develop the younger players. He won of the Etoile d'Or in his last year in France, totalling 200 games for Lille in all competitions.

Arsenal

Cygan joined Arsenal in July 2002 for £2 million, making his debut in a 1–1 draw with Chelsea on 1 September after coming on as a late substitute for Nwankwo Kanu. While he featured notably in some of the team's more important fixtures, he was mostly considered only a fringe player; he missed the 2003 FA Cup final through injury, but did pick up a Premier League winners' medal in 2004 after contributing 18 appearances. Cygan scored three goals for Arsenal in league action, including an unlikely brace in his first game of 2005–06 against Fulham (4–1 home win). Until then he had only netted once, against Everton on 23 March 2003. Also that season, following injuries to both Ashley Cole and Gaël Clichy, Cygan was drafted in as an emergency left-back, and was even named in the Opta team of the week on 9 January 2006. Overall, his side…

Cygan was born in Lens, Pas-de-Calais. His grandparents were of Polish ancestry and his father worked for the Mobile Gendarmerie, with the family living in the corporation's headquarters in Villeneuve-d'Ascq.

Lille

Division 2: 1999–2000 Arsenal

Premier League: 2003–04 FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004 Individual

Etoile d'Or: 2001–02