Post by Taxigirl on Nov 19, 2003 9:40:17 GMT
Saturday sees Birmingham City's Matthew Upson come up against former side Arsenal for the first time since his £1 million move to St Andrews and Gunners fans may well be kicking themselves at the form the former defender has been displaying away from Highbury.
There were high hopes for Upson in North London when he moved there as an 18-year-old from Luton Town back in 1997.
The youngster found progress to the first team difficult behind the likes of Tony Adams and Martin Keown and was restricted to just a handful of appearances each season. Injury also hampered his progress and he was farmed out on loan in order to gain more experience in the 2000-01 season.
At Nottingham Forest, he was restricted to just 45 minutes of action before injury struck again and, following his recovery, he spent the remainder of that season at Crystal Palace. This experience appeared to stand the Suffolk-born defender in good stead and the following season he made his biggest impact on the Arsenal side to date.
Upson made 22 league and cup appearances during the 2001-02 campaign and earned some rave reviews for his performances - particularly in the UEFA Champions League.
If Upson thought he had done enough to earn some more recognition at Arsenal, he was dealt a bitter blow when Arsene Wenger brought in French defender Pascal Cygan in the summer of 2002, who immediately went above Upson in the pecking order.
Another loan spell beckoned and this time it was Reading who were to benefit from Upson's services. Upson's move to Berkshire coincided with a fantastic run of form for The Royals which helped rocket the Division One new boys up into the reckoning for promotion to The Premiership.
They kept 10 clean sheets in the 13 league games that Upson played for them and were bitterly disappointed when he returned to Arsenal at the end of his three-month loan spell.
Upson made just one more appearance for The Gunners before Steve Bruce took him to Birmingham with the lure of regular Premiership football.
It was an opportunity the former Luton trainee grasped with both hands, forcing his way into the England reckoning shortly after his move.
Upson is now part of one of the most successful defence in the Premiership this season - keeping seven clean sheets in the 11 games he has played so far and conceding just eight goals.
