If I offered you a centre-half with one year’s experience in the top division of a European league, you’d probably be a bit cautious about taking him on, agreed?

If he then played a part in a defensive howler which cost Arsenal the Carling Cup against Birmingham, you’d probably think we’d re-signed Pascal Cygan or, even worse, Igor Stepanovs.

Laurent Koscielny is of course to whom I am referring and despite the above the Frenchman is fast-becoming a vital part of a slumbering Arsenal team which may just wake up and smell the trophies once more.

But how did he go from zero to hero in less than a year? Simple, he did what he has done his entire career and didn’t settle for anything less than the best.

Arsene’s French Fancy

After a spell a Guingamp, Koscielny made the move to joined Tours for an undisclosed fee to play in the third tier of the French league in 2007 and enjoyed promotion with his new side. An appearance in Ligue 2 team of the season in the following campaign saw him secure a move to Lorient on a four-year-deal in 2009.

Well, that’s what the French side thought as they embarked on their first season back in Ligue 1! At the end of the campaign, Laurent was ours and was handed the number six shirt, made famous by a well-known Arsenal legend!.

The difficult first season

Koscielny made his competitive debut in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield and ended the game earlier than his new team-mates after he was sent-off following two yellow cards in injury time. It would mark the start of a not very good relationship with the iconic ground as this season has shown.

Goals against Bolton in the league and Ipswich in the Carling Cup saw Kos rise to prominence, especially the celebration against the Tractor Boys in honour of his wife’s pregnant tummy.

But his best and worse week was saved for February, on the Wednesday night he was a tower of strength as Arsenal blunted Barcelona and secured a 2-1 win. On the Sunday though, it was a tale of Wembley woe.

Carling Catastrophe

Arsenal had battled back to 1-1 in the injury time when the ball made its way back towards the Gunners goal. Szczesny shouted, Koscielny shouted and while that was going on, Obefemi Martins nipped in to secure Birmingham a trophy and Arsenal another season of heartbreak. Lesser men may have crumbled, especially considering that’s pretty much what Arsenal did following the Wembley date from hell.

Redemption and revival

This season started with injury, new arrivals and competition at centre-half for the man they now call ‘Bosscielny’. But like everything in his career, Koscielny has hurdled the challenges well and is well-placed to think about emulating the most famous wearer of that number six shirt, a certain Mr Adams.

Together with Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker, Koscielny has started to soldify Arsenal’s leaky back-four and was even praised for his performance against Chelsea in a game which ended 5-3!.

‘Ohhhhhh I wanna dance with Koscielny’ is the latest chant to echo round the Emirates as Gooner’s celebrate the 26-year-old’s enterprising forays upfield . The confidence exuded by the Frenchman going forward and at the back is a large part of why Arsenal have rose higher as the season draws to a close.

His versatility has proven to be an asset this season as well with a number of performances at right-back to aid the cause when needed.

Even a fraught trip to Anfield could not shake Koscielny’s confidence – no red card this time but an own goal from a sliced clearance which given the same situation 100 times he could not repeat if he tried.

The future?

No-one knows for certain but Koscielny has made it incredibly difficult for Arsene Wenger to bench him when Mertesacker returns next season. Arguably he now also rivals Vermaelen for the vice-captaincy duties given that he dominates the defence so much.

Internationally he was finally recognised by France in February 2011 and it’s not impossible to contemplate him lining up for Les Bleus against England this June.

One thing is for certain, I wanna dance with Koscielny because on current form he has all the right move to guide Arsenal to the top of the charts once again.

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