The France international was featured in the November edition of the Arsenal FC magazine, and answered a range of interesting questions, include one relating to the toughest opponents he has faced in his time in England
Arsenal FC defender Laurent Koscielny is among the most level-headed defenders on the pitch in the English Premier League, but the Frenchman revealed that he does have a temper, and isn’t afraid to speak what’s on his mind.
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The 30-year-old also spoke about some of the most challenging strikers he has faced in the Premier League, and the three-man shortlist included some very familiar names.
Koscielny rates Drogba and AgA?ero as his toughest opponents, along with SuA?rez
The Arsenal FC defence has been picked apart by all three in the past, and it comes as no surprise that Koscielny rates them as his toughest opponents. In an interview with the official Gunners’ magazine (via arsenal.com), the Frenchman said: “Yes, [SuA?rez] was one of the best, like Sergio Aguero or Didier Drogba. The good thing about the Premier League is that you have so many different strikers.
“Every weekend, you have to excel in a different department to play against them. After every match, I have a look at my performance, the stats and see what I have done well.”
Koscielny also revealed that despite his calm demeanour on the pitch, he does have a temper. “[Team-mates] know that I am reserved but that I have a temper! Now and again, I speak out. I recall one big talk since 2010. It was two years ago before the FA Cup semi-final against Wigan. I was out injured so I couldna t play.
“I told the squad what I was thinking. I wanted to mobilise everybody. I had a message to get through. It came from my heart and it went down well… I think! Even now, we joke about it sometimes. It was in English as well.”
Koscielny has developed into one of the Premier League’s best
Although the Arsenal FC centre-back struggled initially with the physicality of the English Premier League, he has gone on to develop by leaps and bounds in almost every aspect of his play, and can rightfully lay claim to being one of the division’s top defenders.
Koscielny’s strength has always been his ability to read the game and make timely interceptions, but the 30-year-old has also shown that he is able to compete physically with some of the more muscular target-men in the Premier League — strikers in the mould of Chelsea FC legend Didier Drogba . Along with Koscielny himself, manager ArsA?ne Wenger also deserves immense credit for his development into one of the league’s best defenders.