as a result. Due to Thomas Vermaelen's injury at the beginning of the 2010–11 campaign, Djourou received more opportunities to play. Djourou then played a role when he set up two goals, in a 5–1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk on 19 October 2010. Wenger admitted that he rotated the Swiss international because he missed an entire year and did not want to lose him. Djourou became Arsenal's first-choice centre-back, playing in all eight games in January 2011, during which time Arsenal conceded no Premier League goals. His performance was praised by the club's captain Cesc Fàbregas. He played in both legs of the semi-finals against Ipswich Town to help Arsenal win 3–1 on aggregate to reach the Football League Cup Final. Djourou scored his first goal for Arsenal on 5 February, in the third minute of a 4–4 draw against Newcastle United at St. James' Park. He, once again, helped the club's defence keep three consecutive clean sheets between 12 February 2011 and 5 March 2011 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Stoke City and Sunderland. On 27 February 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes alongside Laurent Koscielny against Birmingham City in the 2011 Football League Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium in a 2–1 defeat. On 12 March 2011, while playing in the quarter finals of the FA Cup away to Manchester United at Old Trafford, Djourou suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder in a collision with teammate Bacary Sagna. Djourou was carried from the field and Wenger later confirmed that he would be unavailable for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. This came as a major blow to Arsenal's title challenge, up until then having not lost a Premier League game with him on the field. As well as that Djourou had played a major part in defence in cover of the injured Vermaelen. Djourou recovered more quickly than expected, returning to play the whole of the 1–1 draw with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on 17 April 2011, playing alongside Koscielny, and the North London Derby three days later. On 24 April 2011, against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium, he conceded a penalty (missed by Kevin Davies) in a 2–1 defeat which effectively ended Arsenal's title hopes. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he played in a total of 37 matches for the Gunners in all competitions. Local newspaper Islington Gazette gave Djourou's performance 8/10, saying: