Arsenal Invincible Lauren reveals ex-Manchester United star was the most difficult player he faced

Former Arsenal defender Lauren Etame Meyer has named Ryan Giggs as the toughest opponent he faced during his career, Soccernet.football reports.

Lauren joined Arsenal from Mallorca in 2000 and went on to become a key player in one of the greatest Gunners teams in history – the Invincible, which went unbeaten in the 2003/04 season Premier League.

The former Cameroon international defender won five trophies with Arsenal, including two Premier League titles, and was named in the 2023/24 Premier League Team of the Year.

A tough tackler and a no-nonsense right-back, Lauren came up against many left-wingers during his playing career in Spain, England, and for the national team.

Arsenal’s greatest rivals at the time was Manchester United, with Arsene Wenger’s men always looking to outwit Sir Alex Ferguson’s charges.

And Lauren has confessed that facing Giggs, who was also in his prime at the time, was a task he did not always look forward to.

“The most difficult player I faced in my career was Ryan Giggs,” Lauren told Ladbrokes Fanzone per the Mirror.

“He’s the cleverest opponent I ever came up against. He was so intelligent; he was always looking at me, trying to figure out how to get around me.

“He knew that if he drew me in closer to him, his team-mates could attack the space, but if I left him to go into the middle of the park, they’d have an extra man in that area. He was always very clever.

‌”And then if you let him get the ball to feet, running at you, he was so difficult to stop. He made you think about him. You know, when that game against Manchester United was coming up, I’d be thinking about him.”

While Manchester United could rely on Ryan Giggs, Arsenal also boast several excellent attacking options at the time.

Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Nwankwo Kanu, and Jose Antonio Reyes were some of the Gunners’ best players and a nightmare for opponents.

Lauren reveals that training with them helped him prepare for the worst opponents he could face.

“The good thing I had was that I was training every day with some of the best players in the world, the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Nwankwo Kanu,” he explained.

“They taught me the importance of concentration, which I could then take with me into those big games against players like Giggs.‌ These guys are gifted, quite simply.

“But that kind of experience only improves you as a defender because one of the best games I played as a professional was when we beat them at Old Trafford to become champions.”