Laureano Bisan Etamé-Mayer

Former Arsenal player and Cameroon international, Laureano Bisan Etamé-Mayer, is better known in footballing circles as Lauren. Playing at right back, he has enjoyed success at both club and international level, with spells at Mallorca, Arsenal, and Portsmouth, as well as a regular place in the Cameroon national side. Having played for Mallorca in the 1999 UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup final, he was bought by Arsenal for £7.2million in the summer of 2000. He went on to become one of Arsenal’s famous ‘invincibles’ who went the whole of the 2003-04 Premier League season unbeaten on their way to the title. He also scored the first penalty in the shoot out as Arsenal beat Manchester United in the 2005 FA Cup final. In total he won two league titles and three FA Cups with Arsenal, as well as winning the FA Cup again with Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth side in 2008. At the same time as his Arsenal success, Lauren was also enjoying a remarkable run with Cameroon, playing in the World Cup in 1998 and 2002, as well as winning the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations and a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. He was Player of the Tournament at the African Nations Cup in 2000 and went on to repeat his success in winning the competition in 2002, once again scoring a crucial penalty in the final shootout. Lauren retired at the end of the 2010 season, after a brief spell with Cordoba, and has since become a regular feature on TV, offering opinions as a pundit for Sky Sports’ la Liga programme and ITV 4’s 2012 African Cup of Nations coverage.