Spending four years at Arsenal between 2007 and 2011, Gilles Sunu never once made an appearance for the Gunners in the Premier League, playing just twice in all competitions (a start against West Brom in the EFL Cup and a sub appearance in the Champions League against Olympiakos).
Since then, he’s travelled around France and Europe, playing for Lorient, Thonon Évian, Angers and BB Erzurumspor in Turkey before returning to Châteauroux, the club Arsenal originally bought him from.
Signing just a few days ago, the forward, who has eight caps for the Togo national team, gave an interview to La Nouvelle République, who asked him about his career, and how, despite playing for Arsenal, he hasn’t featured for bigger clubs.
He said: “I was often injured, multiple times at my knee since my arrival at Arsenal. I had compartment syndrome, I ruptured my Achilles. I had a few injuries that stopped my progress. The less time you spend injured, the more you play and the better you feel.
“I think I didn’t have enough character either by not going to the coach and sticking to one position. I was moved around for a long time on the pitch. Beyond that, I was also lacking a bit of luck and, let’s not kid ourselves, efficiency. As a forward, I don’t have the best stats.
“I’ve never cheated, I’ve always given it my all. In all the clubs I’ve gone through, they see me as someone who works hard. I want to keep that. And at 28, my career is far from over. Why not have my best years stats wise here at Châteauroux?”
Now back in an environment he knows, perhaps this is when we’ll see the best of Sunu and he’ll show why Arsenal and Arsène Wenger decided to buy him 13 years ago.
