Armand Mouhamed Traoré (born 8 October 1989) is a former professional footballer who played as a left back. Traoré is a product of the Arsenal Academy. Born in France, he represented France at under-19 and under-21 levels, but since opted to represent his parents' native country, Senegal, at senior level.
Club career Arsenal
Born in Châtenay-Malabry, France, son of Isabelle and Abdoulaye Traoré, Armand Traoré started out his football youth career at Suresnes, at Racing Paris and Monaco. Traoré joined Arsenal on 1 August 2005. Although mainly a reserve team member, making six appearances in the FA Premier Reserve League in 2005–06, he played in Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial against Ajax in the first game at Emirates Stadium in July 2006.
Traoré was an unused member of Arsenal's 18-man squad for their UEFA Champions League match against Dinamo Zagreb the following month. He went on to sign a professional contract with the club in August 2006 before making his first team debut in the League Cup in a third round match against West Bromwich Albion on 24 October, as a 24th minute substitute for Emmanuel Adebayor. Traoré went on to start in a League Cup match against Everton which was won by 1–0 margin at Goodison Park. He then played away to Liverpool in a 6–3 quarterfinal win. Traore was in the starting line-up for both semi-final legs against Tottenham Hotspur which was won 5–3 on aggregate. He then played in the final against Chelsea, which Arsenal lost 2–1. On 28 February 2007, Traoré started the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Blackburn Rovers in a 1–0 defeat at Ewood Park. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he made seven appearances in all competitions.
At the beginning of the 2007–08 campaign, Traoré said he wanted to prove his quality to manager Arsène Wenger. Traoré put in numerous impressive performances for the Reserves and even scored a few goals including a spectacular long-range effort against Tottenham Reserves. In September 2007, Traoré returned to White Hart Lane, but this time only as a spectator when he was arrested for carrying knuckle dusters into the stadium. Traoré and a friend were taken into custody for questioning for the duration of the game, and he was given a formal warning. Traoré later apologised the situation and said that he did not know it was wrong because the laws were different in France. At the same month, Traoré set up the club's first goal of the game, in a 2–0 win against Newcastle United in the second round of the League Cup. It wasn't until on 18 December 2007 when he made his first appearance for Arsenal in three months against Blackburn Rovers in the fourth round of League Cup, starting the match and played 120 minutes to help the side win 3–2. Traoré then started Arsenal's FA Cup tie against Burnley, before being replaced by Justin Hoyte in the 71st minute. He played in both legs of the League Cup semi–finals against rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, as the club lost 6–2 on aggregate. After appearing on the bench during the club's 3–1 Premier League victory over Manchester City on 2 February 2008 without making it onto the pitch, Traoré started and played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a 4–0 defeat in the FA Cup fifth round on 16 February 2008. He finally received his Premier League debut on 5 April 2008, against Liverpool, as they drew 1–1. Traoré was used as a left-winger in Arsenal's final two league matches of the 2007–08 season, supplying the cross which led to Nicklas Bendtner's winner against Everton. At the end of the season, he made eleven appearances in all competitions. It was announced on 4 August 2008 that Traoré signed a long-term contract extension with Arsenal.
Traoré returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2009 and was determined to fight for his place in the first team. He thereafter played in Arsenal's 2–0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup, for up to 61 minutes before being replaced by Nacer Barazite. Due to Gaël Clichy and Kieran Gibbs both incurring injuries, Traoré stepped up to the starting left-back position. He made his first start of the season against Sunderland, as they lost 1–0 on 21 November 2009. This was followed up by starting in the next two matches in a 3–0 loss at home to Chelsea and a 2–1 win over Liverpool at Anfield. Traoré himself became injured and missed a few matches, but returned against Aston Villa in a 3–0 win on 27 December 2009. He then made four more starts for the side but struggled in the matches against Everton and Bolton Wanderers. His form reportedly attracted the interest of Paris Saint-Germain and Traoré was forced to strenuously deny reports he was set to move to France. Clichy's return forced Traoré out of the side until May's trip to Blackburn Rovers, but the defender had proved he was a more-than-capable understudy, helping the Gunners close the gap at the top of the Premier League table. At the end of the 2009–10 season, he made fourteen appearances in all competitions.
Traoré made his first appearance of the 2011–12 season, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute, against Udinese in the second leg as Arsenal came from behind to win 2–1 and 3–1 on aggregate which helped Arsenal secure qualification for the lucrative group stage of the competition for the 14th straight season. On 28 August 2011, he played for the full 90 minutes as a left-back against Manchester United at Old Trafford in an 8–2 league loss. It was reported on 29 August 2011 that Traore was on a verge of moving to newly promoted Premier League side Queens Park Rangers after passing his medical. Altogether, he capped a sum of 32 times with the Gunners.
Loan spells from Arsenal On 21 August 2008, Traoré signed a season-long loan deal with Portsmouth to gain valuable first-team experience and was given the jersey number 30, the same jersey number that he wore at Arsenal. He made his debut for Portsmouth against Manchester United at Fratton Park, playing the first 56 minutes of the game before being replaced by Jerome Thomas. As so Traoré went on to register an assist in Portsmouth's 1–1 draw to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. He had enjoyed a fair amount of playing time in the early part of his loan spell, being utilised as a left midfielder. However, by way of injuries, Traoré's playing chances soon became limited. Traoré then scored his first Premier League goal on 18 May 2009 at home to Sunderland in an eventual win 3–1 league win. Altogether he made 19 appearances in the Premier League being capped 28 times as a whole and scored one goal with Portsmouth. Following his end to his loan spell at the club, Traoré reflected his time at Portsmouth, stating that it helped him improve as a player.
On 31 August 2010, Traoré joined Italian giants Juventus on a season-long loan and was given the shirt number 17, previously worn by David Trezeguet, who recently left the club. Due to an injury, he missed almost three months of the season before finally making his debut on 13 November 2010 against Roma, coming on as a 45th minute substitute for Fabio Grosso. The match ended 1–1 with the goals scored by Vincenzo Iaquinta and Francesco Totti. Traoré made his first start for Juventus on 1 December 2010 in a UEFA Europa League match against Lech Poznań, playing 83 minutes before being substituted out in an eventual 1–1 draw. He made his first start in Serie A on 10 January 2011, in a 3–0 loss to Napoli. After a return from a short injury, Traoré started in the matches against Milan and Cesena. After missing one match due to injury, he returned to the starting line–up on 10 April 2011 and played the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 win against Genoa. Traoré spent most of his time with Juventus on the substitutes' bench, making only ten Serie A appearances. At the end of the season, it was confirmed he would return to Arsenal. On 24 May 2011, he played his last match for Juventus against Manchester United at Old Trafford in Gary Neville's testimonial match. Traoré then returned from his loan at Juventus in the summer of 2011.
Queens Park Rangers On 30 August 2011, Traoré completed a move to Queens Park Rangers, signing a three-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee, which understood to be costing The Hoops £1.3 million.
On 12 September 2011, Traoré made his Queens Park Rangers debut, starting a match and played 51 minutes before being substituted for Matthew Connolly, in a 0–0 draw against Newcastle United. In a follow–up match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17 September 2011, he set up two goals; setting up the first for Alejandro Faurlín in the tenth minute and the second for DJ Campbell in the 86th minute, in a 3–0 win. However, in a follow–up match against Aston Villa on 25 September 2011, Traoré was sent off in the 90th minute in a 1–1 draw. Following the match, QPR manager Neil Warnock described his sending off as an "absolute disgrace". Despite the sending off and suffered injuries along the way, he continued to remain in the first team, playing in either the left–back and left midfield positions. This lasted until Traoré was called up by Senegal for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. Following Senegal's elimination in the tournament, he made his first team return on 4 February 2012 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss. Traoré then appeared in the next five matches. However, Traoré suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for four matches. It wasn't until on 14 April 2012 when he returned from injury, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against West Bromwich Albion. In the last match of the season, against Manchester City, and needing a win to keep the club in the Premier League at the expense of Bolton Wanderers, Traoré came on as a substitute for Djibril Cissé in the 59th minute; seven minutes later, he provided a cross from which Jamie Mackie scored a header, leading to a shock 2–1 lead. However, Manchester City managed to score twice in injury time, resulting in them winning the 2011–12 Premier League title by an epic 3-2 come-from-behind victory. Notwithstanding, QPR retained their Premier League status for 2012–13 after Bolton drew 2–2 with Stoke City, resulting in Bolton's relegation to the Championship. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he went on to make twenty–three appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2012–13 season, however, Traoré suffered an ankle injury that saw him miss the opening game of the season. It wasn't until on 25 August 2012 when he returned to the starting line–up and played 70 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–1 draw against Norwich City. His return was short–lived when Traoré suffered a leg injury that kept him out for a month. It wasn't until on 6 October 2012 when he returned to the first team, coming on as a second half substitute, in a 3–2 loss against West Bromwich Albion. Since returning from injury, Traoré regained his first team place, playing in the left–back position despite suffering minor injuries along the way. However, he suffered a knee injury that saw him miss two matches. Traoré didn't return to the first team until on 19 January 2013, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against West Ham United. Following a 4–2 loss against Milton Keynes Dons in the fourth round of the FA Cup, his performance was singled out criticism by Manager Harry Redknapp. Shortly after, he was able to make amends from his mistake by helping Queens Park Rangers keep two consecutive clean sheets against Manchester City and Norwich City. However, Queens Park Rangers was eventually relegated to the Championship following a 0–0 draw against Reading on 28 April 2013. Despite suffering two injuries along the way, Traoré made twenty–eight appearances in all competitions.