Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE ACHIEV ABLES
Legend Lauren, one of Arsenal’s Invincibles, says there SHOULD be pressure on Gunners to make the top four because it CAN be done
Premier League: 12.30pm
EXCLUSIVE
BY JOHN CROSS
GUNNERS legend Lauren believes Arsenal should be under pressure to finish in the top four this season.
And the title-winning member of the Invincibles team believes that pressure should come from within to raise expectation levels under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal have not played in the Champions League since 2017 and Lauren firmly believes there is a place up for grabs this season.
The former full-back, now working for FIFA as a technical expert for talent development, said: “We have to put pressure on ourselves always, both individually and collectively, to get to the Champions League places.
“You must always set high targets. They have to try to get back into the Champions League next season and then build on that for the following years because it makes such a difference.
“There’s Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and then maybe there’s one place open. The reality says you can’t fight for the league. There’s still many points but Arsenal have shown with some of the displays before Liverpool... I believe this team can get to the Champions League places.
“If they hadn’t started so slowly, they might have been able to win the league but I believe this team is capable of getting into the top four. To win the league is not impossible but it’s really difficult.”
Lauren was in the 2002 title-winning team and Arsene Wenger converted him from midfielder to right-back as part of the defence which went through the 2003-04 season unbeaten. The former Cameroon international admires Arsenal’s Japan right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu (right) who has impressed in a new-look defence since arriving in the summer with keeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Lauren said: “Tomiyasu is a very good player. He’s settled well. He looks comfortable and looks as if he has played there for years. They have a good, settled defence. Gabriel, Ramsdale, what a fantastic game the keeper had at Leicester. I haven’t seen a performance like that for years. He’s absolutely outstanding.”
Lauren, who lives in Seville and works part-time as a TV pundit, is trying to improve the all-round structure of African football as part of his FIFA brief. Despite all the top players who have emerged from Africa and the promise some nations have shown in major tournaments, the continent has yet to win a World Cup and FIFA hope to raise the overall level in domestic leagues.
Lauren had brainstorming sessions with former England boss Steve Mcclaren and exfrance defender Michael Silvestre and will visit countries to try to improve facilities and coaching.
He said: “I’ve so much to offer and I’ve waited for this opportunity for so long. When you can help others reach their goals, it’s so satisfying.
“There’s many people working on this. I’m a small piece of the cake but we need to look at four things - structural change,
long-term methodology, monitoring and application.
These are the key issues we went through in the brainstorming session.
“We need a technical director, we need the right people, coaches with qualifications, many points we need to improve the game in Africa. You have to identify the right people to implement this, to get people who love what they are doing.
“One of the biggest problems is the gap between the players playing in Europe and those playing in local leagues. You need 23 strong players in a squad at a World Cup and we need to raise the level.”