I'm an Arsenal icon – my son plays for Chelsea and I want him to stay there

The former Arsenal star has no qualms about his son pursuing his own footballing career across the capital with Chelsea instead

Emmanuel Eboue's long-standing relationship with Arsenal certainly hasn't played a part in his dreams for his footballer son.

The former Ivory Coast international spent seven years of his career with the Gunners. He made 214 appearances for the club and started in the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in 2006.

Eboue's allegiance remains in north London even 15 years after departing the club, but in the case of his son, Mathis, the 16-year-old plays for bitter rivals Chelsea. Mathis signed for the Blues last year and currently plays for Chelsea's U18 side.

An attacking midfielder, unlike his defender father, the teenager represents England internationally, making his made his debut for the nation's U17 team last September. The former Arsenal hero opened up about the trajectory of his son's young career when speaking to Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction.

Eboue said: "I’m very, very proud of Mathis, and very happy for him. When he was very young, I didn’t really think my boy would go on and be such a good player, to be honest. You know, he used to play a lot with me at home, because he loved football. I’m very proud of him for getting to where he is today."

Chelsea have been extremely prolific in the transfer market under the stewardship of Todd Boehly as the club have spent over £1billion since the American's arrival in 2022. Despite their regular activity, Eboue wants his son to remain at Stamford Bridge and even claimed his first-team debut could be on its way.

He continued: "I always pray for him, and I hope he achieves his dream. It doesn’t matter, for me, that he’s doing this in a Chelsea shirt, and I’m an ex-Arsenal player. When he was younger he was playing for Watford and doing really well there, and then one day he told me that Chelsea wanted to sign him.

"For me, at 16, nearly 17, I think I would want to stay at the club, because you can see how much they like to use their younger players – so for him, I think it’s better to stay at Chelsea, because when he turns 17 very soon, they’re going to look to use him – maybe next season."

Mathis is eligible to play for England, Ivory Coast and Belgium, with the latter due to his mother being Belgian. Eboue insists it's a good thing his son has options when it comes to deciding his international allegiance.

"I said it was completely up to him what he wanted to do, and like I said I’m just really happy with how things are going for him," he added. "I watch him as much as I can. I want him to be the best, of course. But to be better than me? I don’t know! He’s doing very well.

"I can remember a couple of years ago when he was playing for the national team – the [England] under-15s played against the Ivory Coast, and afterwards the president of the Federation called me to tell me he’d seen my son, and thought he was very, very good

"I was so happy to hear that, and the good thing he’s got is that he’s still able to play for England, Ivory Coast and Belgium, so he has a lot of options there later on in his career." Eboue and his son will likely be keen viewers when Chelsea host Arsenal in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie tonight at 8pm.