Armand Traore, a talented football player, was born on October 8, 1989 in Paris, France. His powerfully-built body, swiftness, and attacking style on the pitch, makes Armand Traore, a promising star on the horizon.
Armand Traore represented France at Under-17, Under-18, and Under-19 levels. His performance helped France qualify for the Elite Round of the 2008 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Under-19 Football Championship. He was part of the French squad in all the three qualifying matches and one elite match in the tournament.
Armand Traore began his professional career with the AS Monaco Club in 2004. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has an eye for spotting young potential, soon signed Armand Traore for his team in August 2005. Though he remained as a reserve team member for most part of the season, he appeared in six matches at the FA Premier Reserve League in 2005-2006. On July 2006, he played in Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial against the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam.
In the same year, in August, he was picked for Arsenal’s Champions League match against Dinamo Zagreb, though he was not used in the match. His first team debut came on October 24, 2006, as a substitute for Emmanuel Adebayor, in the Carling Cup in a Third Round match against West Bromwich Albion.
Armand Traore featured in the starting line-up of the Arsenal team in the matches against Everton and Liverpool, both legs of the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, and the final against Chelsea (which Arsenal lost 2-1) at the League Cup.
Armand Traore was also part of Arsenal’s first eleven at the FA Cup tie against Burnley. His league debut for Arsenal came against Liverpool on April 5, 2008. This gifted French speedster was used as a left-winger in Arsenal’s final two league games of the 2007-2008 season. In one of these matches, the brilliant 40-yard pin-point cross supplied by Armand Traore to Nicklas Bendtner resulted in a winning goal against Everton.
Impressed with Armand Traore, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has signed a season-long loan deal with him on August 21, 2008.
