There isn’t much going on out there in terms of transfer rumours but Sky Sports are claiming that Arsenal and France international defender Laurent Koscielny has confirmed he will end his career at Arsenal unless he joins his previous club back in France, Lorient and makes them his final club.
The French international centre back has less than two years on his current contact, so it looks like he’ll be extending that deal soon and remain at the club, the 31-year-old defender said as quoted by Sky Sports:
“It was Arsene Wenger who had the courage to buy me from Lorient when I was nobody. I’d had one year at an average club in Ligue 1 and he took a big punt in bringing me to one of the 10 biggest clubs in Europe. I am in the French national team thanks to the boss and I will be grateful to him my entire career. I will finish my career in England or at my old club Lorient but I love living in London. I was 24 when I arrived in England and I had never lived in a big town, so it was a big step into the unknown for me, but my family is happy, the people are calmer than in Paris and there is more respect…”
There’s little doubt that Koscielny is one of the best defenders in the Premier League and his partnership with summer signing Shkodran Mustafi so far this season has been nothing short of brilliant.
Koscielny joined Arsenal in the summer of 2010-2011 and he has helped Arsenal to two FA Cups, but reports reckon that both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were both showing a keen interest in signing him but neither club made a bid for Koscielny.
It’s thought that Arsene Wenger has been on the lookout for a new centre back with the injury of Mertesacker as back up for Koscielny and Mustafi, with Jose Gimenez high on his shopping list if the rumours are to be believed.
