Laurent Koscielny: The unsung hero of Arsenal

Koscielny does his job away from the limelight and is now an integral part of Arsenal

Arsenal’s performance in the recently concluded season was nothing short of a phenomenal turnaround, as they finished third in the table. The infusion of Alexis Sanchez into the team witnessed him score more than 20 goals in the entire length of the season.

In the process, he became the first player since Gunners legend Thierry Henry to score over 20 goals in the debut season. Much credit for Arsenal’s performance is attributed to the thrilling performances of Sanchez, the resurgence of Ozil and the re-emergence of Francis Coquelin and the introduction of David Ospina in the goal over the course of the season.

Notwithstanding the above, the contribution of center back Koscielny towards the phenomenal performance of Arsenal should not be undermined. The 29-year-old French international has been outstanding in the defensive quarter, thereby cementing himself as the mainstay of Arsenal’s defense.

The player has up till now featured in 147 matches for Arsenal, scoring 11 goals and conceding 4 red cards which is a testament to the fact that the former Lorient player has grown in stature at Arsenal over the years.

Season 2014-15 saw Koscielny make 27 appearances during which he conceded 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards. Noteworthy is the statistic that Arsenal won 17 league games, drawn 6 and lost only 4 matches out the 27 matches that Koscielny played. Adding to his defending abilities, his attacking abilities are also commendable as Koscielny scored 3 goals last season.

History of Koscielny

In the year 2010, Arsene Wenger sealed the deal with FC Lorient for a relatively unknown Koscielny for Arsenal. In many ways, the 25-year-old, Koscielny was a typical Wenger style signing, having paid €12.5 to sign the defender who had absolutely no experience playing outside France.

But putting an end to such doubts, the French international is now amongst the most talented and consistent performers in the Premier League.

Recalling his transfer during one of his interviews, Koscielny remarks that he vividly remembers the details of his transfer. He observes:

“It was on Monday, May 17 2010. On the Saturday, we played Lille for the last game of the season. And on the Monday, I received a call from my former coach at Tours, Daniel Sanchez. He knew Wenger well and he told me how much he liked me.”

Before Koscielny entered into the Arsenal set-up, Arsene Wenger was dealing with a very difficult situation where players like William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, Phillipe Senderos and Sol Campbell were all set to depart from the club.

Quite expectedly, the fans expected Wenger to secure the defense by getting a well-established player with experience to partner a struggling Thomas Vermaelen. To every one’s surprise, Wenger turned to the 25-year-old who had just led Lorient to their best ever finish in Ligue 1.

Wenger had firm belief that Koscielny had ample talent to succeed in the Premier League and needed to be nurtured enough and in order to cement his belief and reassure the fans, he immediately handed the legendary number six shirt to Koscielny, previously worn by Arsenal legend Tony Adams.

Tough start to the career

The 29-year-old who hails from Tulle in France has had rather a very tough career until now, which has seen him toil very hard for all the success that he’s enjoying at the moment.

The start of his career has been very uncharacteristic, in the sense that he joined the academy of a French Second Division club, Guingamp at the age of 17 which is considered to be late when it comes to joining a football academy.

Probably, one of the most remarkable feats of Koscielny would be that he never lost out a one-on-one challenge in his last season for Lorient and he rarely loses one in the Premier League too.

However, the astounding belief of Wenger in the Frenchman did not bear fruitful immediate results. Koscielny was sent off on his debut at Anfield and struggled when it came to the pace and physicality of the league in the subsequent matches that he started.

In a series of mistakes, his most notable mistake was his mix up with Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in their League Cup final defeat to Birmingham City in 2011.

Koscielny: The Unheralded Arsenal hero

Over the years, Koscielny has not only grown as a player but also as a leader. He has now become a reliable player for Wenger and compliments the other defenders. Blessed with good pace, he allows the Arsenal’s defenders to move forward into attacking positions and create and maintain pressure on opponents.

Earlier in an interview with FourFourTwo Sanit Cazorla acknowledged that Koscielny was one of the three world class players at Arsenal which goes on to indicate how he is valued by his teammates.

Amongst all the notable statistics available, which highlight the pivotal role that Koscielny plays for Arsenal, none comes close to the fact that the Frenchman averaged 3.4 interceptions last season and illustrated an average pass completion rate of 91.37% in the Premier League which ranks him among the best of defenders to have ever played in the Premier League.

Undoubtedly, Arsenal currently revolves around the likes of Ramsey, Ozil, Carzola, Sanchez, and are one or two quality players away from being termed as serious contenders for the Premier League title.

Nevertheless, the technical brilliance of the Frenchman at the back has strengthened a defensive unit which has traditionally been soft centered, and it therefore, follows a necessary corollary that his importance in the team cannot be undermined in any way whatsoever.