On the 7th of July 2010 Arsenal signed a little known French defender from Lorient in a deal worth £10m. Nine years later Laurent Koscielny is the longest serving player still at the club. Over his time at the north London club, Koscielny has made 312 appearances and won multiple trophies including three FA cups and three Community Shields. This did not stop some fans from discussing the quality of the Frenchman and the work he has done at the club, with some appreciating the centre back while other felt he never really achieved what he should have in an Arsenal shirt.
Koscielny has been linked with an exit from the Emirates this summer, with Bayer Leverkusen looking to sign the Frenchman as Arsenal look to improve their backline. The north London club has been linked with the likes of William Saliba and Kieran Tierney in an attempt to help Unai Emery’s side get back into top four contention and the Champions League spots.
Here is the reaction of many Arsenal fans below:
On this day in 2010, we signed Laurent Koscielny… pic.twitter.com/HalyLYxN8A
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) July 7, 2019
Our best defender since Sol Campbell
— Mashir. (@gunnersformula) July 7, 2019
Been a great player for Arsenal. Massive respect
— Dave moody (@davehb2k) July 7, 2019
He will go down as a big game bottler sadly . Won’t be a captain I remember
— Josh Robinson (@JoshRobbo11) July 7, 2019
And he needs to go now, thanks for the memories.
— Oluwafemi M Olagunju (@O_Muhammad_O) July 7, 2019
And nine summers later he’s still there, in the first team every week, despite his obvious decline, it’s a damning indictment to how the club have recruited players pretty much ever since. #AFC #Arsenal
— Daniel Auton (@DanAuton2590) July 7, 2019
Icon, thanks @6_LKOSCIELNY
— Sasuke Uchiha (@NaijaArsenal) July 7, 2019