When you think of The Invincibles, the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Patrick Viera spring to mind. These names are the ionic symbols of a team that achieved such a magnificent feat, 49 games unbeaten with these star-studded names heading the lime lights. But there are some names that are illusive and unfairly noticed too. There is one man that featured a total of 32 times for this team and if it was not for his incredible, but well respected, antics at Old Trafford on Ruud van Nistelrooy, I am sure he would have played 36 times in Arsène Wenger’s side during the 2003-04 season. A stat that could only be matched by Robert Pires, Kolo Toure, Thierry Henry and Jens Lehman. This man is Lauren Etame Mayer. Signed in 2002 by Arsène Wenger for a fee of £7.2m from Spanish side Mallorca, it was yet another name that was slightly unfamiliar to the Arsenal fans, but with Wenger at the height of his powers in the scouting network he soon proved to be an astute buy, providing cover in both defence and midfield. His time to secure an integral part of the Arsenal defence came in 2001 when he helped Arsenal to a league and cup double, leap frogging Lee Dixon and Oleh Luzhny as the clubs first choice right back. It was then in 2003-04 that he was seen as a pivotal part to Arsenal’s greatest success.
With both Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires utilised as inside forwards wide left and right, there was a strong tendency from both of them to drift in field to collect the ball, it meant that more often than not the left back would follow one of them due to their superior technical ability and flair. This allowed a huge amount of space down the right hand flank. Lauren had Arsenal DNA in him. DNA that meant he loved to push forward into advanced areas and deliver crosses into the 18 yard-box for the four attacking players Wenger chose to field. Lauren had more than this though, he often found himself inside penalty box as well, making underlapping runs behind the defence which had them bamboozled by the trickery of the midfield players. This meant the engine of Lauren was truly unstoppable in both his underlapping and overlapping runs. The Cameroonian only managed 3 assists throughout the unforgettable season but it was a frequent occurrence that his menacing cross would lead to other opportunities to score.
Like every other player in The Invincibles squad, Lauren had tremendous fight and character. But he had it more so than others and it would not be a surprising sight to see him at the heart of any on field scuffles. His antics on Ruud van Nistelrooy earned him a four game ban from the FA but he was seen as an immediate hero by Arsenal fans. In fact it is well regarded that if you had an on field problem with an opposition player then Lauren was the man to ‘sort him out’ as it were. Freddie Ljungberg said live on BBC’s Match Of The Day (bless him) that “if anyone kicked me, then he would kick the shit out them afterwards”. That pretty much sums Lauren up in a nutshell. He was a team player and he didn’t mind making sacrifices of himself if it was for the benefit of the team, he provided the fight and grit that maybe some others didn’t and for me, that is what we miss so badly in modern football at this current time. Rivalry.
Another factor of Lauren’s game that I am so intrigued and impressed by is the incredible nerve that he seems to obtain. Going into Spurs vs Arsenal during the 2004-05 season he was a man who hadn’t scored since the 2002-03 season. Yet in that incredible game that ended 5-4 in favour of the Gunners on enemy territory, he had the bottle and audacity to make a mockery of Spurs and slot home a penalty to make it 2-1 to Arsenal without any sense of nerve.
Over the years there have been many comparisons constructed between Lauren and Sagna, with both of their abilities so ideally suited to the factors of the modern game, pace, power and skill. However, it is impossible to make comparisons of which one is of a higher calibre player. Remarkably both players cost around the same figure and yet both have been great servants to the club. But the only logistic that splits the two from one another is the quality of player surrounding one another and that may be the reason for Lauren’s greater success in an Arsenal shirt.
Thank you Lauren for your unbelievable service, but more importantly thank you for the antics.
