Laurent Koscielny was almost unknown when Arsenal paid close to £10m to Lorient in the summer of 2010.
For some it smacked of another Arsene Wenger roll of the dice on a French player who might not work out. There have certainly been some of those, but Koscielny must go down as one of the Arsenal manager’s big successes – especially when he’s often accused of not being able to spot a defender.
But the player himself has admitted his career trajectory has been unusual, and that a gamble he took when he was younger led him on a path to north London.
“I started with Guingcamp, in the second division,” he told the official site of The FA, “but it was hard. The chairman bought a lot of players to play in the first division, who had lots of experience.
“I played at left wing-back, right-back or left-back and very few times at centre-back. It just wasn’t me.”
So, he plumped for a move away, but dropped down a division to play for Tours.
“I took a gamble – I found a good club and a coach who believed in me,” he said.
“I had more money at Guingcamp but it wasn’t about the money. I wanted to play in my position and get more experience, so I joined a team who had ambition to get promoted to the second division.
“We finished second and went up, we stayed together, and continued to progress.
From there he moved to Lorient and after one season, Arsenal came calling.
“The chairman said ‘yes, you can go but the price will be very high’. I said: ‘this is my only chance’.
“For the French, Arsenal is the 19th club of the French League. I said: ‘The train passes only one time, and after that I don’t know if it will ever happen again’.”
Thankfully for us he got that train, and the 29 year old, who scored the equalising goal in last season’s final. will partner Per Mertesacker at Wembley on Saturday.
Absolute rock of a defender
Sorry but whoever thumbed down that comment is an utter cunt. Good day!
I’m so glad he got his own song. Top Gooner. Top defender. The Boss
I can see Kos going on for well into his mid 30s, maybe even more, as his game isn’t based on his physical ability, but on his technical ability and intelligence for reading the game.
Re: Reading the game, he certainly doesn’t seem to allow defenders to get behind him as much now–that’s the big difference I see. He’s also not marauding forward as much. In both cases, he’s become a much more solid defender, which is what this squad needs.
As long as his ankle tendons don’t snap like twigs, this guy should be a fixture in the starting XI for at least the next four years.
*attackers to get behind him. Sorry, must’ve had wing-backs on my mind.
He’s curbed his fondness for diving into tackles in the penalty area too
Absolutely love Kos.
Some of the quotes speak volumes about his personality – take a pay cut to continue developing & play week in week out in my preferred position? No problem!
Attitude shines through on the pitch. Sacrifice my left nut in order to prevent a goal? No problem!
Love how he also seems to score only absolutely crucial goals for us as well. Spurs fans really should rate him very high on their list of most hated Arsenal players as his goals denied them CL football two years in a row.
Proud to wear his jersey since 2011. What a Player!
I remember his terrible performance at Blackburn four years ago, where we lost.
Roll on a couple of years and he is almost unrecognisable from that awful day.
Thank God we have Wenger to have the patience with pursuing with players.
I remember that too-17th September. It was my birthday, and our car broke down on the way back to London. Fucking disaster of a day.
I can’t be the only one who loves it that this current crop of players seem, almost to a man, to ‘get’ what it means to play for Arsenal; that it is an honour, a privilege and a responsibility to play for our great club. Players like Mertesacker and Arteta in particular encapsulate (for me, at least) this great professionalism that has so often been absent in the recent past. Long may it continue, and I sincerely hope that the management bear this in mind when looking to make any new signings. Oh, and Koscielny is a fucking monster. I… Read more »
We should never forget that Loyalty, Honor and Responsibility are 2 way streets related to Players v Manager/Fans/Club. Thanks Mr. Wenger! COYG
I think having former players like Henry, Pires and bould around that came into the team led by the great Tony Adams. He absolutely drilled it in the level that was expected.
The late, great David Rocastle said it best: Remember who you are, what you are, and who you represent.
He’s always reminded of Adams the way he reads the game & the way he tackles. Love him.
Lorient played hard ball. I remember tracking the story at the time. We had two bids of 6mil and 8mil rejected before we got him for 10mil.
If Mangala was 30mil, then Kos would be….
priceless
Thumbs up for the name.. Quality
Or a ridiculous shitload of money. Awesome player.
The one and only Bosscielny!
My favourite current Arsenal player after Ramsey. How he has developed and hus committment to have played through pain this season.
Kos the Boss, more supreme than Diana Ross.
He is such a fucking boss.
Comment: our Bruce Lee
Good player, I really do hope we win the FA Cup.
Kos is arguably the best center-back in the league at the moment. Definition of consistency, able to chip in with some very important goals, and has the deftness of touch one would associate a center-mid with. Seriously, this guy has embarrassed more than a few attackers with his skills. Much better than the overrated Kompany at the moment.
Hmmm…he’s lucky guner!
I Remember that summer well. We Signed a Proven French international, and an unknown French player who was playing French Division 2 football a year before. One was made Captain after a few games, put in a few decent shifts, then went downhill, very fast. The other started slow, and is now one of the best defenders in the league…
And at the time Squillachi looked a better deal. Thats why i love time…
Considering he was widely blamed for costing us a final against Birmingham. It’s a remarkable turnaround.
Love those through balls from Kos and the way he changes play from defensive to offensive.
kos reminds me of Paolo Maldini. i hope he has his longevity too
he is our french Tony Adams has it all height, pace, bravery and gives 110% every game
Whoa steady on! I love Kos but Adams is a comparison too far.
Not just a great defender but a scorer of important goals.
Those 2 goals that got us into the champions league. They could be our most important goals in recent times. Both goals were pure determination to get it done. Without those Ozil and Alexis might not be here. And I missed them cause I was too scared to watch either of those matches.
Before going to Tours he was rejected by a 2nd division team from Romania. http://goalcrunch.blogspot.ro/2011/02/laurent-koscielny-refused-in-romanias.html
He is so underrated. Media and the pundits go gaga over Kompany, Cahill, Luiz and pique. I think he is better than all of them and is in the top 5 cb in Europe. It’s time that this guy gets the recognition he deserves.
It’s time he won the fucking league! Please no fucking around next year…
It’s “Guingamp” not “Guingcamp” blogs 😛
Im Guingcamping this weekend.
Coat please.
Class act. Love him! 🙂
He masters attackers and makes great interceptions. Kos the boss,more supreme than Diana Ross.Sure doesn’t deserve a loss.
“For the French, Arsenal is the 19th club of the French League.”
For me, it is the very first one above all
I think you missed the point there…
Woops indeed
Easily one of the best defenders in the world now, doesn’t get anywhere near the credit he deserves, love this guy
“For the French, Arsenal is the 19th club of the French League.” Feck me, i thought there were 20 clubs in L1…Lolo should have said 21st team instead of 19th