Arnold Mvuemba

Arnold Mvuemba
	Mvuemba with Lorient in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Arnold Mvuemba Makengo
Date of birth	28 January 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Alençon, France
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Roeselare
Number	15
Youth career
1998–2003	Rennes
Senior career*
Years	Team
2003–2007	Rennes
2007	→ Portsmouth (loan)
2007–2009	Portsmouth
2009–2012	Lorient
2012–2016	Lyon
2014	Lyon B
2016–2018	Lorient
2018–2019	Umm Salal
2019–	Roeselare
International career‡
2005–2006	France U21
2005	DR Congo
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:58, 30 April 2020 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:34, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

Arnold Mvuemba Makengo (born 28 January 1985) is a French-Congolese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Roeselare in the Belgian First Division B.

Club career

Mvuemba was born in Alençon, Orne, France.^[1] He was signed by Premier League team Portsmouth on loan from Stade Rennais in January 2007 until May 2007, with an option to complete a permanent deal.^[2] He made his debut against Blackburn Rovers on 25 February 2007,^[3] and scored his first Premier League goal on 9 April 2007 in a 4–2 defeat to Watford.^[4] On 3 July, Mvuemba signed a three-year contract with Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee.^[5] Mvuemba was part of Portsmouth's 2007–08 FA Cup-winning team. Despite not making the squad for the final^[6] he appeared in the earlier rounds.^[7] He scored against VfL Wolfsburg in the UEFA Cup but it was not enough to enable Portsmouth to remain in the competition.^[8] On 7 August 2009, Mvuemba signed a contract with FC Lorient after being released by Portsmouth.

He was signed by Lyon in summer 2012 for €3 million and €1 million variable.^[9] Mvuemba was released by Lyon at the end of the 2015–16 season.^[10]

International career

Mvuemba made one appearance for the DR Congo national team in 2005.^[11]

Style of play

Mvuemba plays in central midfield normally as a playmaker in an attacking role. He came to prominence playing in this position alongside holding midfielder Lassana Diarra in the Toulon Tournament (U20) in July 2004.

According to Liverpool and England striker Peter Crouch, who was his team mate in Portsmouth, Mvuemba was the most talented player in the squad at the time but could not perform at his best due to nerves. Crouch wrote that Mvuemba was a "genius midfield playmaker who could turn invisible at the sound of a referee's whistle".^[12]