Gooner Koscielny

9th July 2010

© Kieran Lynam Arsenal have secured Koscielny's signature Share:

Central defender Laurent Koscielny has signed a long-term deal with Arsenal following a successful season with Lorient. The 24-year-old has been drafted in to strengthen the Gunner’s options in defence, which has been creaky of late and has recently lost the services of William Gallas, Sol Campbell and Phillipe Senderos among others.

Koscielny is French-born, but his Polish roots have brought him to the attention of national team manager, Franciszek Smuda, who hopes he will be able to persuade Koscielny to follow in the footsteps of Ludovic Obraniak and play for Poland.

Arsene Wenger is in no doubts about the quality of the player. “Koscielny is an excellent centre back who played really well for Lorient. He’s a powerful defender who is developing very quickly. He’s physically strong and very brave. He’s very competitive. He’s a really good improvement to the squad.”