Welcome to the first edition of ‘What Ever Happened To…’, in this new piece I take a look at three former Gunners and tell you a little bit about how and where their careers went after leaving North London. First up is none other than Mr. Laureano Bisan-Etame Mayer…
Lauren
A bit of a Cameroonian blast from the past here as many will remember Lauren most fondly as one of the integral members of the famous ‘Invincibles’. This aside though, the majority of his six years at Arsenal were blighted by injuries and in 2006 Arsene Wenger sought it right to offload him to the (formerly steady) Portsmouth ship. A regular in his first season in Harry Redknapp’s side, it appeared that Lauren had found himself a new home on the South Coast, but the emergence of Glen Johnson at right back meant that his appearances were limited, and in 2009 his contract ended leaving him a free agent. 2010 saw Lauren made a rather unexpected move to Spanish 2nd Division side Cordoba. However one year and just five appearances later, it was clear that his move to sunny Spain had not gone entirely as he had hoped and eventually retired at the end of the season.
Sylvain Wiltord
Back in the day French striker Sylvain Wiltord was Arsenal Football Club’s record signing, bought from Bordeaux for £13 million some 12 years ago now. But whilst Wiltord will forever be remembered for scoring ‘that goal’ at Old Trafford in 2002, you would be entirely forgiven for thinking he had long since retired. Surprisingly though he is still very much around, and is currently plying his trade for FC Nantes in Ligue 2 at the grand old age of 37. Since he left Highbury in 2004, Wiltord has spent his time in his native France, despite the temptation to cash in and join the MLS stardom. Playing for the likes of Olympique Lyonnais, Rennes, Olympique de Marseille and FC Metz, the 92 time French International is still very admirably strutting his stuff, while presumably with not quite the same tenacity he did during his time in North London.
Freddie Ljungberg
Freddie Ljungberg; Men wanted to be him, women wanted to be with him, and I’m pretty sure most Gooners wanted to be with him too. The Swede enjoyed nine successful years at Arsenal, winning two Premier League trophies and earning three FA Cup winners medals amongst others. After an unfortunate series of injuries however, the red-haired-assassin made his way across London to join Alan Curbishley’s West Ham United side. But whilst the colour of his shirt changed, Ljungberg’s luck with injuries didn’t and following a rib-breaking collision, terminated his contract after just one year. Following a brief period out of the game, Ljungberg signed on with MLS outfit Seattle Sounders where he became a firm favourite with the fans. A short spell with Chicago Fire and Celtic came next and most recently the former Gunner was involved in Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse. However none of those moves proved fruitful and Freddie is currently without a club at 35.
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