Mart Poom (born February 3, 1972 in Tallinn) is an Estonian football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Arsenal, whom he joined on January 23, 2006 following a loan spell from Sunderland.
Poom played for Tallinn Sport and Flora Tallinn in his home country, before a brief stint at Swiss club FC Wil. In 1994 he moved to English club Portsmouth, but only played seven games and was loaned back to his former club Flora. In 1997 he moved to Derby County, making his Premiership debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford. With outstanding performances on the field he soon became a club legend.
Poom has represented Estonia on 101 occasions, making his debut in a 1992 (while playing for KuPS in Finland) international friendly against Slovenia. In 2003, he was selected by the Estonian Football Association as the country’s greatest player of the last 50 years.
After Derby’s relegation to the First Division in the summer of 2002, Poom moved to Sunderland in November of that year. On September 20 2003, he headed a 90th minute equaliser for Sunderland against his former club at Pride Park. It was described on BBC Radio Five Live as “The best headed equaliser by a goalkeeper against his former club in the last minute. Ever!".
Poom’s career at Sunderland was beset by several injuries, and he spent much of the past two seasons out of the game. He was signed by Arsenal in August 2005 as temporary cover for Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia, before his deal was made permanent in January 2006. He is currently Arsenal’s third-choice keeper, and did not play a single match in the 2005-06 season, although he became the first Estonian to receive a Champions League medal (albeit a runners-up medal) after Arsenal lost to FC Barcelona. Poom was not included in the final, but was a member of Arsenal’s 25-man european squad, each of whom won a silver medal.