Eboue is a first-class graduate for Wenger

14 April 2012

No one is more alert to the potential of players coming from west Africa than Arsene Wenger. His worldwide contacts are legendary and when former French international Jean-Marc Guillou told him about an academy he had established in the Ivory Coast capital of Abidjan, Wenger was all ears.

This was the part of the Africa that had produced Patrick Vieira, Lauren, Didier Drogba and Marcel Desailly. There are huge untapped resources along the west coast of the continent - and immense talent.

Guillou, a classy midfielder who won 19 caps for his country, established his Mimosa academy near Abidjan and four years ago offered to help the cash-strapped Belgian club Beveren.

The Belgians were £1.5million in debt, had no youth system and needed fresh , young talent.

Guillou could provide that talent - if Beveren found £1m to inject into the academy. As a long-term investment it made sound business sense.

Then came the next stage. Wenger and Guillou have been friends for years and the Arsenal manager agreed to offer Beveren technical help and loan players in return for an early tip-off on promising young players graduating from the Mimosa academy.

Since the Arsenal-Beveren link was established in the summer of 2001, most of the traffic has been one-way. Graham Stack, Liam Chilvers, John Halls and Igors Stepanovs have all played for Beveren regularly. Although Yaya Toure - brother of Kolo - and Arsene Ne went on Arsenal pre-season tours, they never made the full transition.

Then came Emmanuel Eboue. "He's good," Guillou told Wenger. "You should have a look at him." Wenger responded by inviting the 21-year-old to play in the Ajax tournament in Amsterdam in the build-up to the Premiership season and, after a further spell of first-team football in Belgium, he joined for £1m on a fiveyear deal when the transfer window opened. On Sunday he made his debut for Arsenal and helped them beat Stoke City 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup.

Although Eboue started as right-back in place of the injured Lauren, his mobility and physique suggested he would be equally comfortable in central defence or in midfield. That is no coincidence. The same could be said of another Mimosa academy product, Kolo Toure, who has played in those same three positions for Arsenal.

The Guillou ethos is to produce players . . . not defenders, midfielders or strikers. He wants all-rounders.

"The players at the academy are versatile," said Eboue. "They can play anywhere . . . midfield, defence, up front. Kolo can do the same."

Such flexibility is important to Wenger. He likes players who can fill more than one position and he has been impressed by Eboue. But the Ivorian was somewhat stunned to be given his chance so soon.

"I was surprised to play against Stoke but Arsene Wenger trusted me so I gave him everything I had," said Eboue.

"After the preseason, I didn't know I would be coming back to Arsenal. I had been told to report back to Beveren and then my manager there said Arsenal were interested in me. He told me I was going to have to fight and give everything at Beveren so that Arsenal would be pleased. That is what I did.

"Then Arsene Wenger called me and said he was happy with me. He said he wanted me to join. I arrived on 26 November and since then everything has been great.

"When I was a kid growing up in Abidjan, people used to ask me where I wanted to play and I always answered England or Spain - but especially England.

"I thank God for giving me this opportunity and I want to make the most of it.

"My ambition? To work and work here so that the people of the Ivory Coast can be proud of me."

Eboue has played once for his country, against Sudan, and he said: "Our national team has great players and I am sure we can go very far."

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Eboue is a first-class graduate for Wenger

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