Report: Emmanuel Eboue Arrested, Friends Concerned for His Mental State

Former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue was reportedly arrested in London on Saturday on suspicion of "arson and malicious communications."

The Mirror's Darren Lewis relayed the Metropolitan Police's statement on the matter: "Police investigating an alleged arson at a residential address in Enfield on Saturday, 30 June, arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of arson and malicious communications outside the address at around 17:00 hrs on Saturday, 7 July. He was taken to a north London police station where he currently remains."

According to Lewis, Eboue's friends are worried about his "mental and emotional state" and are concerned that he will not be able to afford legal representation after a costly divorce left him insolvent.

Eboue has not played since leaving Galatasaray in 2015.

He signed for Sunderland the following March but was released a month later without making an appearance for the club after receiving a one-year ban from all footballing activity for failing to pay money owed to a former agent.

Eboue told the Telegraph's James Ducker in December 2016 that he had contemplated suicide during his ban. In October last year, a move to Cypriot side Turk Ocagi Limasol fell through after a medical revealed "abnormal blood values," per Goal's Chris Wheatley.

The full-back appeared for an Arsenal Legends side in a charity match with their Real Madrid counterparts at the Santiago Bernabeu last month:

The Ivorian joined the Gunners in 2004 and made 214 appearances for the club before his departure in 2011.