Kolo Toures rise to fame is the
footballing equivalent of a rags-to-riches story.
Born in the Ivorian city of Sokuora Bouake, the energetic utility
player spent his youth with homeland club Asec Mimosas. It was
there he came to the attention of Arséne Wengers scouts and for
the bargain sum of £150,000 he made the switch to England and the
high-profile glamour of the Premiership.
His Gunners debut came in the Charity Shield of the 2002/03 season
and he quickly developed into a key and dependable feature of the
first team. This season, with Arsenals back line rocked by
injuries and digesting the departures of Sol Campbell and Ashley
Cole, the burden of responsibility was unquestionably on the
26-year-old elder statesman.
It is testament to his performances under this pressure that
Arsenal.com readers have voted him third in our official Player of
the Season poll. But what do the statistics tell us about Toures
performances over the campaign?
At a glance the stat that leaps out is the 64 clearances Toure
produced. As the experienced heartbeat of a fledgling Arsenal
defence the Ivorian had to lead by example - and it seems more
often than not he was in the right place to do so. Toures nearest
rivals in this department, William Gallas and Gael Clichy, ended
the campaign 23 clearances behind.
Further evidence of Toures dependability lies in the 18 blocks and
22 interceptions he racked up. He also won 34 of the 45 challenges
he attempted and all this remember as the only constant in a
defence blighted by absence and featuring two full backs in their
maiden seasons as first-team regulars.
It is a wonder then how Toure succeeded in having such a positive
input as an attacking entity. Versatility has always been one of
the Ivorians most notable assets and he frequently put it to good
use, pushing forward to make an extra man in midfield. That allowed
flair individuals such as Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky to thrust
forward more freely, but Toure also produced four goals and three
assists of his own.
His first strike of the season was the second in a comprehensive
3-0 league win over Liverpool and efforts against Bolton and
Blackburn followed. But perhaps his fourth and final goal was the
most important; indeed the highlight of his campaign. A goal down
in the North London derby, Toure swept home the vital first
equaliser in a game which ended 2-2 and kept the Gunners on course
for a top-four finish.
The fact he finished second only to Clichy in terms of forward runs
is added proof of Toures efficency on the attack. The Ivorian made
22 attempts to take on an opponent and failed to produce an end
product on only eight occasions. He also managed to test a
Premiership goalkeeper 11 times, his ambitious long-range shooting
and powerful surges into the box proving he is as fearless going
forward as he is when defending.
Toure made few mistakes when playing the ball out from the back. Mr
Dependable attempted 293 passes - 66 more than any other Arsenal
defender finding a team-mate 64 per cent of the time.
He may have arrived at Arsenal as an unknown but Kolo Toure now
sits deservedly among the elite defenders in world football. And
hes still only 26. Lets hope the best chapters of his story are
yet to be written.