Man Utd participant was hardest opponent I ever confronted, admits Arsenal Invincible
Arsenal legend Lauren has spilled the beans on why he found Ryan Giggs to be the trickiest adversary during his time on the pitch.
The ex-Cameroon international, who’s now 47, was a tough-as-nails part of the Gunners outfit that didn’t lose a single match in the 2003/04 Premier League season. That league title was just one of five pieces of silverware he nabbed during his stint of over six years.
While the Gunners were bossing it under Arsene Wenger, they always had a fierce scrap on their hands when they squared off against Sir Alex Ferguson’s mighty Manchester United squad. And for Lauren, the challenge was particularly steep.
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As a right-back, he was pitted against the iconic left winger Giggs, who was absolutely smashing it at the time. “The most difficult player I faced in my career was Ryan Giggs,” Lauren confessed to Ladbrokes Fanzone.
“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”, reports the Mirror.
(Image: Getty Images Sport)
“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.”
Containing the threat of Giggs was no easy task, but Lauren had the advantage of regularly training with world-class talent. “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 shared.
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“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.”
The Gunners clinched a 1-0 victory away at United in the penultimate game of the 2001/02 season, securing the first title Lauren won during his time in north London. This was just one of many unforgettable clashes between the two teams in the noughties.
