An attacking right-back or wing-back, he was known for his energetic runs down the right wing, as well as his stamina and athleticism, which earned him the nicknames "Forrest Gump" and "The Swiss Express".

[5] During the 2004–05 season Lichtsteiner sealed a transfer to French side Lille OSC as one of five Swiss players to enter Ligue 1 in the summer of 2005.

[6] After some good performances at UEFA Euro 2008, several clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain and Everton, expressed interest in signing Lichtsteiner.

[7] He rejected PSG's bid and, in July, signed a four-year contract with Italian side S.S. Lazio for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of €1.5 million[8] as a replacement for fellow Swiss international Valon Behrami, who went to West Ham United.

[11] During the season, Lichtsteiner formed an attacking tandem down the flanks with Serbian international full-back Aleksandar Kolarov on the other side of the pitch.

He played a part in Lazio's successful campaign, scoring in the penalty shoot-out against Sampdoria in the final, and also claimed the Supercoppa Italiana at the beginning of the next season.

[14] Juventus went on to win the Scudetto and he played a vital part in their strong defensive record, only missing a handful of matches through injury and suspensions.

[17][18] On 6 June 2015, Lichtsteiner started for Juventus in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final as the team were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona at Berlin's Olympiastadion; he was involved in Álvaro Morata's temporary equalising goal.

[31] On 7 March 2018, Lichtsteiner made his 250th appearance for Juventus in a 2–1 win over Tottenham at Wembley Stadium, in the second leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, coming off the bench in the second half to help create Gonzalo Higuaín's goal.

[38] He made his Arsenal debut on 12 August, coming on as a substitute in the 35th minute for the injured Ainsley Maitland-Niles in an eventual 2–0 home defeat to Manchester City.

[46] In 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, he played eight full matches in a successful campaign, scoring two first-half goals on 6 September 2013 in a 4–4 draw with Iceland at the Stade de Suisse.

Due to injury to regular captain Gökhan Inler, Lichtsteiner wore the Swiss armband for the first time on 14 October 2014 in his 70th match, a 4–0 away win over San Marino in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.

[49] Prior to the finals in France Lichtsteiner was made permanent captain as Inler was dropped due to lack of playing time at club level.

[51] In 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Lichtsteiner scored in home wins over the Faroe Islands, Andorra and Hungary, as the Swiss qualified through the play-offs.

[56] He was fined 5,000 Swiss francs after the 2–1 group win over Serbia for joining Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka in their controversial goal celebrations and later defended their actions.

[58] A dynamic, hard-working, consistent, and versatile defender, Lichtsteiner was capable of playing anywhere along the right flank, and had been deployed as an attacking full-back or wing-back in a four-man back-line, or also as winger in a 3–5–2 formation.

[4][59][60] Although not particularly skilful from a technical standpoint, Lichsteiner was capable of linking up with teammates and making attacking runs to get on the end of passes, which enabled him to get into positions from which he could create chances for strikers with crosses from the touchline, or even score goals himself; while he was mainly regarded for his offensive contribution, he was also known for being reliable defensively.

However, at times Lichsteiner also drew criticism in the media for lacking composure under pressure, being too rash and aggressive in his challenges, and prone to defensive errors, as well as for being inconsistent in his crossing and distribution from the right wing.

[70] Lichtsteiner acquired the nickname "Forrest Gump" from Lazio-supporting Radio Sei commentator Guido de Angelis after making a run down his flank to score in the 4–2 derby victory over crosstown rivals A.S.