Arsenal legend Martin Keown has heaped praised on stricken Bolton star Fabrice Muamba, following the midfielder’s collapse at White Hart Lane this past Saturday.
The 23-year-old reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest and remains under intensive care.
Thankfully however, there have been signs of improvement as Sky Sports say Muamba is now speaking a few words in English and French, recognising visitors and can move his arms and legs.
Keown recalls when he first saw the Arsenal youth academy product.
Quoted in the Daily Mail, the former Arsenal centre-back said:
‘Fabrice Muamba caught the attention from the second he turned up at Arsenal.
‘He walked in and pleaded with the club for a trial and he impressed straight away – as a player and as a person.
‘Walking in off the street like he did showed he was determined to make something happen in his career and there was soon a buzz about him around the training ground.
‘He was intelligent, always had a huge smile on his face and had the attitude to make a career for himself.
‘When a youngster is around senior players, you want them to be respectful and he was.’
Keown went onto to admit that Muamba was quickly seen as the successor to Patrick Vieira, as the youngster boasted the same physique and attributes (apart from his passing) as the Frenchman:
‘He was quickly seen as the successor to Patrick Vieira because he is big, quick into the tackle and got around the pitch quickly. Yes, he was raw and needed some work on his passing but there was excitement about him.’
Having signed his first professional contract for Arsenal in 2005, Muamba only managed to make two Carling Cup appearances that year.
The following season he was sent out on loan to Birmingham, where he eventually signed for the Blues at the end of the campaign. However, Keown was under the impression that he was going to return and flourish at Arsenal:
‘When he went on loan to Birmingham, we expected him to come back. In fact, he turned out to be quite a late developer and that means that he still might end up at a top club one day. Let’s all hope so.’
I, like everybody around the world, pray that Muamba comes out of this horrific incident unscathed and hope to see him on a football pitch once again!
Get well soon Fabrice!
#Pray4Muamba
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