Success for Arsenal in European Awards

Arsenal’s Jens Lehmann was thrilled to beat off competition from Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) and Gregory Coupet (Lyon) to be named Best Goalkeeper in last season’s Champions League and with typical modesty he attributed his success to teamwork – “I dedicate this to my team, to Arsene Wenger and all the coaching staff.”

As a further reflection of the club’s outstanding performances in the competition, young Emmanuel Eboue was nominated as one of the best three defenders and Thierry Henry as one of the best strikers – but there will be many good judges who might consider that Cesc Fabregas was extremely unfortunate not to have made the shortlist for the outstanding midfielder award, which was won by Barcelona’s Deco.