Former Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos has spoken out on his well-documented struggles playing against legendary former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.
The Gunners went through a period of badly struggling against Chelsea, with Drogba regularly scoring against them and seeming to torment former Swiss defender Senderos in particular.
The 37-year-old has now admitted it was often “tough” playing against the Blues at that time, though he wouldn’t be drawn too much on his individual battles with Drogba, telling The Athletic that many top centre-backs will have endured similar problems with the Ivorian at that time.
“I was young, and they were always tough games against Chelsea,” he said.
“It wasn’t a case of one against one — they were always big battles between the two teams.
“I don’t think I’m the only player who struggled against great strikers like Drogba.”
Arsenal fans won’t have fond memories of those Senderos vs Drogba duels, but Mikel Arteta seems to have the defence in slightly more solid shape now with some fine recent signings like Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes, while youngster William Saliba also looks a fine prospect for the future after impressing out on loan.
Overall, Senderos was a decent performer for Arsenal, and he’s slightly unlucky to now be remembered best for struggling to contain Drogba.