A Christmastime Ode to Laurent Koscielny, the Next Arsenal Legend
It’s the holiday season, so, naturally, that means the tabloids are aflame with rumors of Alexis Sanchez’s contract, Mesut Ozil’s effort, and whether or not manager Arsene Wenger will feel the need to strengthen the squad during the upcoming January window. Of course, the one thing you’ve not heard much about is current captain Laurent Koscielny, an Arsenal stalwart and leader since he transferred to North London in 2010. In light of the vicious newscycle stories surrounding things both untrue and/or out of supporters hands, there’s one thing that you can do this weekend and that’s appreciate Koscielny’s brilliance, solitude, and leadership.
In the sustained absence of captain Per Mertesacker, the onus has fallen on Koscielny to lead the squad both on and off the pitch — and, up to this point, does anybody have a complaint? Sure, the defensive numbers have fallen a bit without the fast-learning partnership of Shkodran Mustafi, but the aforementioned Mertesacker made a fantastic foil for the hard-hitting, give-it-all center back from France for years. Each week, pundits and writers analyze whether or not Theo Walcott can continue his goal-scoring pace or if the Francis Coquelin-Granit Xhaka pivot will finally work this time — but little has been said about Koscielny and it’s time that changed.
Easily one of the top 10 CBs in Europe
OK, so I lied, but only minorly, as we have heard from Koscielny recently in the tabloids. However, it was only because the 31 year-old is, allegedly, set to extend his contract with Arsenal yet again, a move that would keep him at the Emirates until 2020. Now, make no mistake, this means little until it’s on Arsenal’s official website, but it would serve to grow the suddenly looming legend of Koscielny’s career with the club — albeit with little fanfare.
Between rejecting supposed overtures from Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, Koscielny’s commitment to English side has made him a strong contender for Arsenal’s next statue. A consummate professional, you’ll never catch Koscielny complaining about others, the manager, or of situations he cannot control. As captain, he has set a new standard that the squad has finally begun to embrace: gritty passion; and although the last few results have not been favorable, you can tell that Koscielny’s new responsibility has rubbed off. Undoubtedly, he’s had a major role with Hector Bellerin’s recently signed long-term deal as well, there can be no question of that.
“There were teams interested in me but I always asked myself if it was worth taking the risk,” Koscielny told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche.
“I’ve seen a good few players leave for a bigger club and find themselves on the substitutes’ bench. At the start of my career I was often on the bench. I said to myself ‘never again’.
The Frenchman is a walking throwback to the glory days of Arsenal, a center back that would throw himself in front of a moving train in order to save a goal.
Koscielny has always been a defender that wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s taken the brunt of Arsenal losses over his tenure in red, but never once has he worried about his per-week
This tandem never lost a league match
earnings, said he’d love to finish with a Spanish giant, or tried to force Arsenal’s hand. It’s telling then, that when he went through a rough patch last campaign, there was no heavy debate over his aging legs or potential transfer fee, but a general understanding that he’d battle through it.
And he did.
Elsewhere, when Ozil has a poor game or two, the tabloids instantly target his happiness, contract, or aspirations for bigger and better trophies to fill their click-quotas. Koscielny is unflappable, he is honorable, and a more than worthy role model — he’s Arsenal through and through, deserving of every inch of praise ever written about him.
He’s already Arsenal’s highest-scoring defender in Premier League history and he scored, perhaps, one of the most important club goals in the last decade. He’s a center back that can bicycle kick like a striker and a adapt tackler that has an entire YouTube reel entitled ‘Koscielny Floors Bitches’. Koscielny is stronger man than I because he took Diego Costa’s violent debauchery with just a scowl and then put him in his back pocket a year later in the rematch.
On the field, he is stoic, unmoving — a flurry of game-saving tackles and perfectly-timed headers. Off the field, he’s well-humored family man that is terrified of skydiving. Koscielny is a two-time FA Cup winner, giving more silverware than any of the other has-beens, should’ve-beens, and little boys earned at the club.
At his core, Koscielny is a professional footballer that defines Wenger’s legacy as much of his own, two unknown Frenchman that rose to the top of their respected positions — together.
Should Koscielny stay with Arsenal until the end of his career in 2020, he’ll have played 10 years with Arsenal — more than the likes of both Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, two of the club’s most-fondly remembered heroes. Although Koscielny hasn’t won the ever-elusive Premier League title yet, he’s well on his way to becoming the next legend for Arsenal.
While the rest of the world squabbles around Ozil, Alexis, and how Arsenal may or may not have choked away another opportunity to top the table — take a minute and appreciate Laurent Koscielny, the bicycle-flipping, trophy-lifting, Costa-crushing defender that rebuffed the world’s biggest clubs so that he could keep leading yours.
Here’s to you, Laurent.
