Earlier today, Arsenal’s official website revealed that star defender Laurent Koscielny has just signed a long term contract with the club, tying him down until 2019. Amidst a guaranteed top 4 finish and a brilliant chance to end an 8 year trophy drought, this is sensational news for Arsenal Football Club. After being plucked from Ligue 2 obscurity in 2010, the Frenchman has developed at an astounding rate, and has established himself as one of the Premier League’s top defenders.
Koscielny’s pace, tenacity and an unrivalled defensive instincts make him an irreplaceable cog in Arsenal’s back four, and at 28, looks set to enter his prime years. He has directly contributed to most of the 16 clean sheets Arsenal have recorded this season, which ranks at an impressive 2nd in the league behind Chelsea. In addition, Koscielny’s partnership with German international Per Mertesacker has blossomed into one of the best in Europe, with the two centre backs complementing each other to perfection. After reports of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG interest in the Koscielny surfaced recently, the news of the new deal will be a welcome sight to Arsenal fans around the world.
Koscielny heads a long list of Arsenal players recently signing long term contracts, displaying the club’s new found ambition in keeping it’s current squad intact. In recent seasons, Arsene Wenger has dealt with sizeable amounts of criticism, spawning mainly from his seeming inability to keep his best players at the club. However lately, he appears to have corrected that issue. In addition to Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Serge Gnabry and Gedion Zelalem have all penned long term deals this season.
Keeping players like Koscielny around for the long run is a massive boost for Arsenal, and will help the club compete for trophies in the years to come. The future looks bright for Arsenal Football Club, and the retention of its top players makes everything shine just a little bit brighter.
