Can Lorik Cana Be Arsenal's Sweeping Solution?

Contributor Written on July 01, 2009

DONETSK, UKRAINE - APRIL 09: Tomas Hubschman (L) of FC Shakhtar Donetsk battles for the ball with Lorik Cana of Olympique de Marseille during the UEFA Cup Quarter Final first leg match between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Olympique de Marseille at the RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium on April 9, 2009 in Donetsk, Ukraine. (Photo by Dmitry Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images)

(Photo by Dmitry Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images)

A 6 foot, 25-year-old Albanian, weighing in at 121 lbs and dubbed "the new Flamini" seems to have caught the eye of the Premier League's elite. He is the captain and midfield boss of Olympique de Marseille.

Background

The aggressive midfield bully broke into the first team of Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 and quickly established himself as one of their main players who made 32 appearances, scored one goal, won the Coupe de France, and helped them finished second in Ligue 1.

He replicated this performance the next season as well, however, at the beginning of the 2005-2006 campaign the new gaffer of Paris Saint-Germain, Paul Le Guen decided against Lorik being part of his plans at the club.

He left for the league's most successful outfit, namely, Olympique de Marseille and became a regular in no time. He exacted revenge on his former club by scoring the winning goal in the home game against PSG.

He puts in consistent performances and is relatively injury free, playing most of their games. He was crowned captain on Habib Beye's move to Newcastle in 2007. So far he has played over a 100 games for them. He also seems to have plenty of European experience from both the champions league and uefa cup.

Being eligible to play for Switzerland, France, and Albania's national teams, he picked Albania, being true to his heart and was their footballer of the year in 03/04, with a total of 31 appearences and a solitary goal.

Achievements

Apart from being the OM's captain, he has won the Coupe de France thrice, twice with his present and once with his former club. Albania's player of the year in 03/04 and 06/07.

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written on July 01, 2009 Opinion

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