Gangly midfielder Fabrice Muamba joined the Arsenal youth set-up in 2002 and made his first of two senior appliances in a League Cup tie in 2005. A loan spell at Birmingham followed before he made the move permanent in 2007. In his two years at Birmingham he impressed so much that Bolton were prepared to pay £5 million for his services in 2008. Following a successful 5 year stint in the North-west his career was sadly cut short when he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch in 2012, with doctors saying he’d never be allowed to play again.
After three strong campaigns in the youth team, Muamaba made his debut for the Gunners in front of a bumper crowd in Cup win over Sunderland. Frustratingly though, he struggled to get near the first-team and his only other appearance came against Reading, also in the League Cup. In August 2006 a loan deal was agreed with Birmingham for the energetic midfielder’s, and after a slow start he really grew with confidence at the Blues, ending the season as the fans young player of the year. The following Summer, after a fantastic campaign Muamba made the move permanent joining for a reported £4 million fee. Again he had a brilliant season with Birmingham notching up 37 league appearances. Unfortunately though they were relegated, and after ono one full season Mumaba moved on to Bolton.
Much like at Birmingham Muamba’s career took time to get going at Bolton. 2010 was his real breakthrough year at the club, netting his first goal and eventually been named as the player of the season. A mainstay in the team for another couple of years after this, and Muamba was being linked with a move to a bigger Premiership side. But sadly, on 17th March 2012 his career was cut-short, when he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch against Spurs in a FA Cup tie. It was announced that his heart had stopped for 78 minutes, and such was the risk doctors said he could never play again. Muamba won’t be the last football player to suffer from a cardiac arrest whilst playing the sport that they love. That’s why more football clubs and other sporting venues should have access to important, life-saving equipment like a defibrillator to help save someone’s life. Something similar to these AED packages could be exactly what teams need in their medical rooms and pitchside so that if anyone does suffer from a cardiac arrest, they can be stabilized before it has a chance to become fatal. It may even help them to prolong their playing career.
Such a promising career was cruelly cut-short, but Muamba still works closely in the game of football. He is currently studying at University for a sports journalism degree and he works closely with the BBC as well. Of course he’ll never be allowed to play again, but he hasn’t ruled out management in the future and hopefully one day he’ll make a return to the game.