Arsenal arrival excites Eboué
Friday, January 7, 2005
Article summary
KSK Beveren and Ivory Coast defender Emmanuel Eboué has become Arsenal FC's first signing of 2005.
Article body
Arsenal FC have completed the signing of KSK Beveren defender Emmanuel Eboué.
Technical relationship
Arsenal enjoy a technical relationship with the Belgian side and Eboué spent time on loan in England in the summer along with Marco Né. Although neither player did enough to earn an immediate move to the English champions, manager Arsène Wenger vowed to "keep an eye on them".
Dual nationality
Eboué has since maintained his excellent form at right wing-back and joins the Gunners on a five-year contract. The 21-year-old Ivorian international, who has dual Belgian nationality following his marriage last year, has been training with the Gunners since 1 January. He goes straight into the squad for Sunday's FA Cup tie against Stoke City FC.
Dream move
"I'm proud as this is a dream," said Eboué, who joined Beveren from Académie Abidjan in his homeland and subsequently scored four times in 70 games over three seasons. "When I came to Europe my dream was to play for a big club one day."
UEFA Cup
Eboué is unable to play in the UEFA Champions League having appeared in all six of Beveren's matches in the UEFA Cup this season. Arsenal play FC Bayern München in the last 16.
