Laurent Koscielny made his first appearance in 6 months in tonight’s 1-0 win over Qarabag in the Europa League.
It was great to see the skipper back, he was clearly delighted to be playing again, and this is what he had to say to BT Sport after the game.
Great to see you back. How good did it feel?
It was very important for me today. Now I start a new chapter on my career, I think I’m better in my head and physically as well. So, for me it’s just important to enjoy with my teammates today. Just to be on the pitch, because for a football player the most important is to be on the pitch with our friends, and today I did that, so I’m very happy.
Was it a good game to come back in? You weren’t troubled too much.
Yeah, it was a difficult game as they played well. We had some chances, but for me and for all the players it was important to keep our run going for our confidence. We have a big challenge during Christmas, and we need to other players for this club and today we played with many young players.
They were very determined and focused on their job, we won so it’s important to finish on top of the group.
How hard has it been to be injured?
It’s difficult, you have some difficult moments. It was my first big injury, and I was a long time out from the pitch. It’s difficult but you learn a lot about yourself, and the people you have a around you. As I said, I’m very happy, calm with myself, focused mentally, and you are stronger because it’s tough to miss being on the pitch. Now it’s the end of that and with a smile I will just enjoy it with my club and I’ll start my season now.
Great to have Kos back. Hope these 70 minutes help him get match-fit, and that recovery is good for the Southampton game. We need our captain fully fit, pain-free and firing on all cylinders
How hard has it been to be injured?
Missing captaining my country to a world cup victory with my best mate oli, who plays for another club now, then getting the cold shoulder from my national team didn’t really affect me tbh. Quite nice actually.
?????
He’s not the French captain. But I get what you’re saying. He would’ve been extremely deflated from watching that
He was and was very vocal about it afterwards.
Also change the word ‘captaining’ to ‘leading’ and the sentiment remains unchanged.
Loved the smile on his face when he came off
New 1-year deal now, surely ?
After so long watching him playing in pain, it’s so good to see Kos happy. Not only that he’s playing again, but also that he’s loved and respected in the team and by the manager. He’s been through a hard time and it was reported that he considered leaving when Arsene left, but I’m glad to hear him talking about a new start with the team, playing with his friends, and enjoying himself. Loved the way the players put his coat on him, there’s such a special bond in this team at the moment.
How cool is Kos? I love that he’s from a lower league background and that he looked so out of of his depth when he arrived but turned into a total weapon. Hope he stays as long as we can keep him.
He made some mistakes, but he was hardly out of his depth. I remember when he outpaced Torres and handled him with such ease during his debut, I knew we have a real talent with us even though he got sent off a minute later.
He will probably play against the Saints. Be warned. Instead of football
there could be footbrawl.The gunners wont initiate it because they play football.
Expect robust tackles like the one which took out Holding.
I have always maintained the ref can punish the thugs and if he chooses
to do so he could set the tone for the gameagainst Saints.
Btw,with snow piling up,there could be some unpredictable results.
Hopefully Arsenal can win.
this sounds like from late eighties.
There is nothing to discuss even though the entry field says join the discussion. I love Kos like I loved Mertesacker. Glad to see him back. Hope he stays fit and an Arsenal player for one more season. I think he has greatness in him and want his carrier at Arsenal to end in a high.
This is lovely for him to return this way but please let’s keep our heads on straight, it can take a few months for a player his age to fully return to form after an injury as serious as that. We need to be patient with him.
Chill out ebro no one said anything. It was just nice to see him play again that’s all..
Pleased to see him back on the pitch and wearing the armband, even if we only get to enjoy it for a short while longer at The Arsenal. His attitude and experience will go a long way towards imparting the desire we’ve seen from him in the past.
Welcome back, Lolo.
I don’t know why I’m thinking about this today but Per and Kos were one of our best CB pairings. Had they been in a team as talented up front and with Torreira, we could have won a few more things. I think their partnership was just so naturally amazing. If only we had a few more years of them together. Oh and Santi too. That would have been beautiful. Wishful thinking ?
There’s always the possibility of another crisis in the defense. We might have to bring Per back, like we had to do with Lehmann…
Yeah
Per and Kos at back,
Santi and torreira in the middle and laca ozil and sanchez upfront
Too good for any team
He looked good today…it was a good game to ease it in bc the opposition was frankly poor.
We will need him. Any feature for us this season is a bonus.
Other less reported news…
Ozil ‘back’ from his back ache.
Apparently, no issues contrary to the always reliable tabloid press that some segments of our fan base are all too eager to embrace.
Almost in tears when we cheered him off yesterday at the stadium. And then Nacho came in! Coming from Nepal, I can’t belive I was lucky enough to see my team play live at home in the Emirates. We love you arsenal!!!
Hopefully he can play often. Achilles problems are a pain in the butt to heal completely, but hopefully he can make a full recovery and be the boss we all loved. IMHO one of the best purchases the club made in the last years.