Former Arsenal defender Lauren has named two Manchester United players as the toughest opponents he faced in his career.
The former right-back was part of the Gunners squad that went unbeaten in the 2003/04 season, having signed from Mallorca four years earlier. He ended his seven-year stay in London having won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.
Lauren racked up 241 appearances for Arsenal, 11 of which came in matches against United. He won five of them but said two Reds players he came up against during some of these contests gave him the biggest headache in his career.
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Speaking to FairBettingSites, the 46-year-old said Cristiano Ronaldo was one of said players. He played against the superstar six times during his Arsenal days and saw him net a brace in a 4-2 home loss in February 2005.
Lauren also named another United player who had given him sleepless nights. “My toughest opponent was Ryan Giggs, he was very intelligent and quick with the ball,” he said.
“Also a young Cristiano Ronaldo, he gave me a bad time in the [2005] FA Cup final. I was injured, so the first 45 minutes I was all over the place.” Arsenal ended up lifting the trophy on penalties and Lauren managed to see out the whole 120 minutes, scoring his side’s first spot kick in the shoot-out.
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