Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has warned Arsene Wenger to not repeat last summer’s transfer mistakes in order to lead the Gunners to their first title glory since 2004. The north London club finished second in the 2015/16 season, finishing behind English champions Leicester City.
Petr Cech arrived at the Emirates from Chelsea and the Czech Republic’s goalkeeper was the only addition to the squad last summer. The Frenchman signed Mohamed Elneny from Basel earlier in January to become Arsenal’s sole purchase in the January window.
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Koscielny, who is a part of France squad for Euro 2016 believes his side’s failure to win matches consistently in February and March saw them finish the previous campaign without silverware. The centre-back remains confident that summer signings can help the Gunners reach another level in the 2016/17 season.
"Yes, it's a disappointment,” Koscielny told Omnisport when asked if the last season was a disappointment.
“We finished second, but if you look at the whole season, we can have regrets. I think this year we had the means to compete with the other teams to win this title. But our results were inconsistent, especially in February and March, when we won very few games, and we took very few points.
"It was tough, but we have to keep the positive from this season to learn from it, and start a nice season next year, with probably some new players that will allow us to reach another level and have more consistent results."
Arsenal’s failure to mount a title challenge and lack of fighting spirit has seen a few sections of fans asking their manager to leave the club. However, Koscielny has hailed Wenger and backed his fellow countryman as the “right man” for the job at the Emirates.
"The boss has seen it all, he's been for many years at the club. I think we owe him a lot," the said.
"At least, I owe him very much, I have a lot of respect for the coach, but as well for the man. He's a very nice guy. I understand the frustration of the fans because we did not win the title for a long time, but I think that Arsene did some amazing things in this club.
"He helped it grow, now we have a beautiful stadium, our facilities are unbelievable…it's up to us, the players, to do what's necessary on the pitch to win these titles. But I think that Arsene is a very good coach, and he's still the man for the job."
