Arsenal legend made fun of me, says Emmanuel Eboué

Former Arsenal right-back Emmanuel Eboué admitted legendary Gunners Invincibles star Lauren made fun of him when he arrived.

Eboue was not a big name when he arrived at Arsenal, joining as a youth from Belgian club Beveren after catching the eye of Arsène Wenger.

The Ivorian looked like a promising talent, but he was still likely to struggle to break into Wenger’s starting line-up with an experienced name like Lauren.

The former Cameroon international was a key part of the Arsenal Invincibles team that won the Premier League title unbeaten in 2003/04, while he was also part of that double-winning team two years earlier.

Eboue has now admitted, speaking to Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction, that Lauren made fun of him when he arrived and told him he wanted to be a starter.

Emmanuel Eboue on Lauren making fun of him at Arsenal

“When I arrived, Arsène Wenger spoke with me a lot and was keen to let me know what was expected of me,” Eboué said.

“He knew it was going to be difficult for me at the start, but he said he believed in me, and that was all that mattered. You know, when Arsene Wenger tells you that, you know everything will be fine. All he wanted was for me to do my best.

“At the very beginning it was difficult for me to get into the team because Lauren was already at the club and he was such a great player who had done so much in his career. But I told him very early on: ‘Lauren, listen to me… I’m here to play. I’m not here to sit on the bench.

“He was making fun of me and I wanted to let him know I was serious. You know, even though I was still so young, I wanted to play. And even though it was him I was fighting for a spot on the team, he helped me so much…he made everything so easy for me.”

Emmanuel Eboué ended up being Arsenal’s first choice

Eboue arrived at Arsenal in January 2005 and it took him a while to become first choice, but he grabbed his opportunity with both hands when Lauren was injured the following season.

AFC fans will fondly remember Eboué as part of that makeshift quartet that proved rock solid during that memorable run to the Champions League final in 2005/06.

Eboué was one of the unsung heroes of that run, alongside compatriot Philippe Senderos and Mathieu Flamini, playing out of position as a left-back.

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Arsenal continued to use Eboué as first choice at right-back the following season, but he was then moved up when Bacary Sagna joined.

This led to a loss of form for Ebouéwho already had the indignity of being replaced by Wenger after being replaced in the first place because things were going so badly for him.