Another week gone by and let’s be
honest there is nothing new to report. The transfer window which started with
lot’s “close deals” has gone rumour based as every year. Take Gonzalo
Higuain, Marouane Fellaini or any other player.
It’s
a difficult situation as we have just started pre season. But on the other hand
we all know how important it is to get all the players together early on in pre
season. At least we’ve got an away kit event. Horaay!
Any
deals seem to stuck. Take Nicklas Bendtner with his massive wage demands or
bids that are rejected such as the Lars Bender one. No new developments on the
horizon. So far we pushed out what was needed to be pushed out but didn’t add.
So
I thought why not take some time to calm down take a break from transfer
madness and have a look back at glory days in a special feature of now and
then. Today the spotlight is on Jens Lehmann. Mad Jens was our keeper during
the Invincibles season and we never had such a good keeper since Arsene Wenger
started to promote Manuel Almunia to Arsenal’s number one keeper.
Lehmann
started his career with Schalke in 1988 before joining AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
He joined Arsenal in summer of 2003 and rejoined in 2011 to help out when we
were in need. For those who are statistic freaks let’s take a look at his
career stats:
Year Team
App (G)
1988–1998
FC Schalke 04 274 (2)
1998 AC Milan 5 (0)
1999–2003 Borussia Dortmund 129 (0)
2003–2008 FC Arsenal 147 (0)
2008–2010 VfB Stuttgart 65 (0)
2011FC FC Arsenal 1 (0)
2011 FC Arsenal
Reserves 2 (0)
1998-2008
Germany 61 (0)
I’m
not the statistic maniac so I’d like to focus on what Lehmann brought to the
team. Lehmann wasn’t called Mad Jens for no reason. In some way he was crazy
about football. The good crazy of course. Lehmann had the spirit. The spirit
only few players have. The winning attitude that is needed to push a team over
the line. I remember the match against Manchester United at Old Trafford with Ruud
van Nistelrooy stepping up to the spot to take the penalty. Jens was jumping
around putting his arms up and down and Van Nistelrooy put it over the bar.
These are the moments you remember when talking about big players. Not a Marouane
Chamakh 5-0 against a lower league team in the League Cup. We haven’t had lot
of these kind of players in recent years but I think we are getting back to it
with players such as Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta filling the gap.
The
moment everyone has in mind will probably be Lehmann’s sending off against
Barcelona in the Champions League final. A moment he most definitely will never
forget either. He lives and breathes Arsenal (now and then) and not being able
to help the team win the most prestigious trophy in club football must be
painful. But as with other players you’re not mad with Mad Jens as you know how
he might have felt.
Jens
is Arsenal through and through. Although his reign as Arsenal’s No.1 ended in
2008 he never talked a bad word about his old club. Instead he decided to help
out when Arsenal were in need of an experienced keeper. Today Jens is well
known for his jobs as a TV pundit for Sky Germany. If Arsenal are playing, Jens
isn’t far away. And it’s always a pleasure to see him talk about HIS Arsenal.
It’s not his former club, it’s HIS ARSENAL. He would put on the No.1 shirt in a
heartbeat if you would ask him. The good thing about it is the fact that he’s
not wearing Arsenal glasses. If he thinks we are heading into a wrong direction
he has the guts to say so. Just like in old times…..
Besides
many other social projects he helps out with the Willow foundation a foundation
close to Arsenal. Personally I hope he will end up at Arsenal permanently one
day as he was a player I always admired and who has a lot to give to young our
keepers.
Cheers,
Chris Mader
Mad, Jens-like, thirty-something German. Waving the Arsenal flag in Münster, Germany. Red member. Visiting Arsenal matches for more than 10 years now. Still fussed EasyJet won’t get me free flights. Always down N5 with my dad. Worked in London for about half a year. Started my own German Arsenal blog about two years ago. Expert on Bundesliga issues. BVB my local club.
No comments yet.