“Madrid wanted to sign me, I met with Onieva, but Arsenal was a better option”

Laureano Bisan-Etame Mayer, Lauren, (1-19-1977, 44 years old, Kribi, Cameroon) has given an interview to AS in which he reviews his sporting career, which was shared between Spain and England, since he started playing in the Montequinto de Dos Hermanas (Seville), where he currently resides, his time at Utrera, the quarry of Sevilla, San Fernando, Levante, Mallorca, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Córdoba, where he retired in 2010. He also gives his opinion on his present and future plans and current affairs with the matter of the Super League, Messi, Atlético de Madrid and his firm candidacy for the title, Fernando Torres …

It's been a decade since you retired as a professional footballer. What do you do for people who have lost track of you?

Before the pandemic I was serving as Arsenal ambassador in events in different countries where I was required, Rwanda, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nigeria… countries where the club has contractual agreements. And as a commentator on BeIn LaLiga Internacional.

As an Arsenal ambassador, what exactly do you do?

The ambassadors go to those countries with which the club has contractual agreements, we stay for a week, 15 days or the time that is stipulated and we participate in events such as the 'coaching clinic', where games are played with kids from the area to whom The 'Arsenal way', that is, the values ​​and philosophy of the club's game, is instilled in them so that it is implemented there, and also in commercial and marketing events of the sponsors that have agreements and conventions with Arsenal.

Are you tough as a sportscaster?

No, because it tastes bad. Also, many times, when you are commenting on a game, you still have the chip that you are a player and it is difficult to make a criticism, but if I do, it is certainly always constructive. If a player is wrong, it is commented from the seriousness and honesty.

You have obtained the title of coach here in Spain and have been a promotion partner of Fernando Torres, Ibagaza, Arbeloa, Sergio García, who by the way has returned to playing football, and Catanha, among others. Who do you see with more coach wood?

Without a doubt, Fernando Torres. He is clear about it. Besides being clear about his game philosophy, he transmits well, and that is very important. From the first day I saw that he is going to be a great coach, in the First Division.

In other words, you see him as a substitute for Simeone …

From Simeone or from anyone, because, I insist, he has the qualities of a coach. He did tell me that he wants to start from the lower echelons and progress from there. But we all saw that he can become top.

And you?

I also have the idea of, if I dive right in, start from the bottom, and if I see that I have the real ability to develop my ideas, continue. I do not set long-term goals, because one thing is theory and another when you are exercising.

What is your style, more towards Wenger and Cúper, with whom you coincided, or Simeone, Guardiola, Klopp, Zidane…?

My ideas are somewhere between Wenger and Klopp. Possession with quick transitions, with the wings rising. Do not elaborate much on the plays in the opposite field and do press, attack the free spaces and finish the plays.

Let's go with your career as a footballer. You grew up in the Sevilla quarry, but you didn't get to play in the first team, why?

That time was different in terms of the organization of the Sevilla quarry. Now he takes much more care. The situation was simple: I wanted a professional contract, because already at that time I was standing out in the subsidiary, and Sevilla offered me an amateur one and that's why I went to Levante, which offered me optimal conditions.

You went to Levante, where you left, and signed for Mallorca de Cúper, being the protagonist in one of the best times of the club in its history, winning the Spanish Super Cup in 1998 and contesting the final of the Recopa de Europa, in 1999. What did that stage mean to you?

It was a wonderful time, in which I continued to grow in a team in which Cúper instilled in us the philosophy of the group, collective solidarity, above individualities, despite the fact that there were high-quality players like Stankovic, Dani, Ibagaza , Biagini… And those ideas led us to have the reward of winning the Spanish Super Cup, in the club's first participation, against Barça at the Camp Nou (0-1 and 2-1, in the first leg at Son Moix) and compete without complexes in the Cup Winners' Cup final against Lazio, who had a great team, but were not better than us (2-1, at Villa Park).

You were one of the wingers with the most projection in Europe. You chose to go to Arsenal, but Madrid wanted to sign you. How was that situation?

My representative was in Madrid negotiating with Juan Onieva, but the conditions that Arsenal offered me were much better. Not only economically, but in terms of my ability to continue growing. I traveled to London to meet with Wenger and he made it very clear to me from the first moment: “This is the way to achieve this,” he told me. He gave opportunities to young people, but you had to earn it on the field.

Why was the Madrid project not optimal for you?

At that time it was very difficult for a young boy to succeed in Madrid, I was 23 years old and we intelligently decided that he would go to Arsenal, especially after having met with Wenger and made his intentions clear to me. And we got the decision right.

Was your father angry? Because I think he is a great supporter of Madrid …

My father? More madridista than the shield. Yes he was saddened and annoyed that I discarded the option of going to Madrid, because he wanted to see his son in the team of his loves, but Arsenal was the best option for me, without a doubt.

You were at Arsenal for seven years, being a key part of the ‘The Invincibles’ team. Besides having great players, what was the secret of that team?

That the geniuses of that team added, that they made the rest of the players participate in their genius. It was a very talented and close-knit group, almost like a family. Besides, we were a bit cholistas, we went game by game. And of course thanks to Wenger, who gave us the tools and encouragement so that each of us could perform at a high level.

At that time Wenger was tempted on more than one occasion to coach Real Madrid. Why do you think he did not accept? Because a matter of money I do not think it was …

Well, I don't know, but I think he understood that the freedom to develop his ideas in Arsenal's sports project would be broader than in Madrid. Keep in mind that the ideas of the club and Wenger were not short-term, but rather a medium-long-term project was designed that gave important results over the years.

If you had to highlight a player from ‘The Invincibles’ who would you stay with and why.

I'm staying with Henry. He was a born winner. He not only stood out for his physical and football conditions, but also for his mentality. I don't remember missing a game due to injury. I wanted to play it all. In fact, he's the top scorer in Arsenal history for all of that.

Get wet: Henry or Cristiano?

Buffff! It's true that what Cristiano is doing is brutal, but I'm staying with my friend, with Henry, who made us win eight titles in six seasons. We only lacked the Champions League, the one we lost against Barça in 2006.

I ask you about Arsenal news. Does Arteta deserve the criticism he's receiving this season?

I'm just going to say that he's the same Arteta who made us win the FA Cup last season (2-1 against Chelsea) and the Community Shield (on penalties against Liverpool). He seems to me a very valid present and future coach, and I also like his idea of ​​the game.

You have Spanish nationality, but you decided to play with Cameroon, with whom you were Olympic champion in Sydney precisely against Spain. Would you have liked to play for La Roja?

Of course I would have liked it. I feel Spanish, even though my parents are from Equatorial Guinea and incidentally I was born in Cameroon, but I regret having played for the Cameroonian team, with which we achieved important achievements.

And why wasn't the option to play for Spain?

Because while at Levante, N'Kono called me, he raised the possibility of playing with Cameroon for the 1998 World Cup in France and I accepted, and the option of Spain was definitely ruled out.

Do you see the European Super League viable?

The matter is complicated, what is clear is that it benefits the big clubs and harms the less gifted.

Do you think Messi will continue at Barça?

I do not think so. When he has positioned himself in that way … Messi, who has earned by his own merits being the best footballer in the world, what he wants is to have footballers by his side who will make him win titles, because they demand it from him individually, and if he doesn't have them … I think he will leave at the end of the season.

And would you bet because Atlético will be league champions?

Totally. You will like his style more or less, but the work that Simeone is doing at Atleti, in these ten years, is brutal.

Thank you very much for attending us.

To you.