Much has changed at Arsenal. The days of the fearsome Arsenal defence in the 1990s, with club captain and defensive stalwart Tony Adams as the heartbeat have gone. These changes and the shift in culture from a defensive one to a more offensive one, has become one of the most talked about parts of the football club. One man who has stepped forward over the past two seasons – despite the continuous criticism of the Gunners back line – is centre back Laurent Koscielny.
The French international joined the club from French club L’Orient as a relatively unknown defender in 2010. As he tried to find his feet at the Emirates, he found it hard to adjust to the quality, skill and pace of English football. Simply put: he looked completely out of place at a club chasing silverware. During Koscielny’s poor performances, Arsene Wenger kept faith in the defender.
During the 2011-12 season, the Arsenal defence conceded 49 goals which was an average of 1.29 goals per game, which was the most among the top four teams in the league. Koscielny was beginning to settle in. Last season, when Arsenal scraped to fourth place on the last day of the season, the defence conceded just 37 goals in the league over the course of the season. This was the second best record in the league, only behind Manchester City. After former assistant manager Pat Rice retired, Wenger brought in former defender Steve Bould as his new right hand man, and it seems, that the former defender has improved the defence no end through the solid partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny.
Since his first season at the club the centre half has grown in statue and matured as a player since his first appearance – leading him to become the first name on the Gunners team sheet in the defensive line. As the French defender continued to improve as an all-round player, it was last season where Koscielny really ramped it up. The club used their settled defence – containing Mertesacker and Koscielny – to enable them to keep clean sheets and used it as a foundation for excellent end of season form which saw them pip bitter rivals Tottenham to the final Champions League spot on the final day at Newcastle. Ironically, it was Koscielny who scored the winner.
The defender, who is now 27, will be expecting his best years to be ahead of him, and providing he stays fit, he could become the linchpin of the Arsenal side under the watchful eye of Wenger and the guidance of Bould. The other main part will be whether his German defensive partner, also stays injury free as the statistics shows that when they get a regular run of games together, it lays the groundwork for Arsenal to show form of title contenders. This has meant that captain Thomas Vermaelen has been watching from the substitute’s bench whilst the Emirates may be seeing a new defender with the defensive options wafer thin due to Vermaelen and fellow defender Nacho Monreal being injured for the start of the season.
Laurent Koscielny has since been linked with Bayern Munich and Barcelona. This just goes to show how much Koscielny has progressed during his tutelage under Wenger. This season is a big one for the North London club. If Koscielny and Mertesacker can continue where they left off at the back end of last season, it will build a solid foundation for a season of success at the Emirates.
