Today came the announcement of Laurent Koscielny signing a new long term deal at Arsenal.  This has been rumoured for a couple of days but it is now official.

Koscielny told Arsenal.com "I am very proud to have reached agreement with the Club on a new contract. I have enjoyed four great years at Arsenal already, and I look forward to continuing to help the team in the years to come.”

The delight can be clearly seen by Arsene as well "Laurent has proven himself to be an outstanding player since joining us in 2010 and has showed his quality once again this season. I am delighted he has decided to commit his future to the Club.”

This is great news for Arsenal as they have tied down most key players which include the likes of Ramsey, Cazorla, Mertesacker, Szczesny and Rosicky as well as young players Gnabry and Zelalem. This is a welcome change since letting key players run down their contracts and all we need now is Sagna and Fabianski to sign new deals.

Koscielny has been immense over the last couple of years and has become one of the first names on the team sheet. His growing partnership with Mertesacker has been a particular highlight. When Koscielny arrived at Arsenal, fans questioned the deal as his arrived from French football but it goes to show that Wenger can still pick a gem. Koscielny has scored crucial goals in the past to secure champions league at West Brom and Newcastle.

Laurent Koscielny has made 163 appearances for Arsenal since arriving back in 2010. Koscielny has contributed to 15 clean sheets out of 31 games this year which proves how integral he is to Arsenal.

Hopefully with the core all tied down we can go and have a successful period in the club’s history which means Koscielny will be central to that.

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