Koscielny transfer set to be 'announced' on Monday
|Laurent Koscielny has finalised personal terms with Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and according to reports in France his move to north London is expected to be announced on Monday.
The 24-year-old is expected to sign a 4-year deal worth more than £10 million, with bonuses also included after negotiations stalled with Lorient officials on Wednesday evening.
Koscielny was little-known a year ago when Lorient signed him from Ligue 2 side Tours for just £1.5m but an impressive season brought him to the attention of Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
Veterans defenders Mikael Silvestre and contract rebel William Gallas are both expected to leave this summer, leaving just Thomas Vermaelen and Johan Djourou as specialist centre backs with Djourou having made just one appearance all last season and only 48 in the League since 2004.
FINALLY!!!
Are u sure of this, Gooner Chris?
top stuff gooner chris !!
u think we’ll sign another CB or u think he’ll promote from within?
Its hard to be judgemental on a guy I’ve never seen play but…….
£10m ON A NON-INTERNATIONAL NEVER-PLAYED-IN-EUROPE FRESH-OUT-THE-LOWER-LEAGUES NOBODY????
Yet Wenger refused to pay an extra £2m for Alonso deeming he was only worth £14m!
Say hello to another Cygan, Stepanovs, Senderos, etc.,
Gooner Chris ,do you know anything on the Mertesaker rumour?
What the fuck is going on,10 mil for this rubbish they have taken us to the cleaners.
I heard last night that it will be announced on Monday, hope it is. Looks a decent player but we do need at least another CB
@jd: I’ve heard about our interest but I can’t see him leaving Werder. He said this a few days ago:
We could have had David Villa…
to be fair, a lot of ppl said the exact same thing about paying big money for Vermaelen but look how he turned out
@Not Happy: Vermaelean came from ajax played in the left-back postition, not to mention played in the holland league which is by far lower than the french league
Koscielny did have the highest tackles last season for French league with 256 tackles!!! thats not bad
Not Happy spot on. Wenger doesn’t want stars at Arsenal, he wants moderate players that he can mold and make him the star.
Gooner V was the Captain of Ajax…End of.
gooner chris mertesacker is an arsenal fan and we are in serious talks about getting him!!!
i think we will buy hi and promote havard nordviet
MATE IF WENGER IS SERIOUS ABOUT WINNING TROPHIES HE WILL SIGN QUALITY CB LIKE METERSACKER, IF HE DOSENT THEN CONTINUE SHINING THE FA CUP TROPHY FROM 2005
I think Koscielny will complement Vermaelen well. If he is going straight into the starting eleven, that is. Seems like a very big step, but Wenger’s buys rarely needs time to adapt. They usually fit right in straight away.
For those who do not know: Koscielny is right footed (but played as the left centre back last season next to an experienced campaigner in Marchal), he is no-nonsense and is a good man marker. He is pretty fast and mobile and he is adored by his own fans.
I do hope we sign another defender though, even if Campbell stays on seeing as he can hardly play twice in a week if needed. I also think the fee is indicative of the fact that Wenger will pay that little extra to get his man, which can only be a good thing. Hope this trend continues.
thing is mertesacker is as slow as a donkey and has a huge turning circle..he would be raped by strikers in the pl like a united rooney (not england rooney)
@arsenal4ever: Reports from The Sun and The Daily Mail mate. Trust me, there’s no concrete interest there, Wenger’s just watching that player like many others.
@chris: Yeah, just like he was ‘raped’ by higuain, messi, tevez and aguero today. You can compensate lack of pace with intelligence, look at Terry.
@pakke: im just saying i think he would be exposed completely playing for us, the germans protect their back four brilliantly and there was never really a clear-cut occasion where one of those players ran at just him.. he would do well for a very well-organised team
Anything new on the joe cole front?
Pakke, Terry is about as intelligent as a doorknob and got found out against Germany. He had just one good performance in the world cup – against mighty Slovenia.
mate I have other quotes as the sun and daily mail. even the Bild lfrom germany linked us with him. anyway tasci from stuttgart would be good, too!! it is said rowley scouted him last season in a lot of games. we will have to wait and see. hopefully it isnt that algerian guy who we were linked, too. wenger sign some big names!!! we fans deserve it!!!!
i think it will be interesting to see what squad number he gets, if he gets #6, wenger wont be buying another centre back if he gets a higher number then we are in luck as a new centre half is on the way
@ chris:
you really have no clue!!! Terry was on of the worst defenders in wc and you wouldnt label him slow!! Mertesacker had his bad game against serbia but after that he is playing brillantly. and no he isnt to slow!!! i am watching bundesliga and he has always the best stats of all defenders!!!
@pakke Are you saying John Terry has intelligence?
Right!! :DD
kolejny Polak w Arsenalu 🙂
Khedira would be a quality signing, but i doubt wenger will buy a midfielder coz he loves diaby and denilson like his own sons…
I will be so impressive with the gunners,
if koscielny transfer announced on monday.
@arsenal4ever: terry has never been that quick, and at his age yes i would label him pretty slow. i didnt say mertesacker is a bad player and his height would be useful for us, i just think in our way of playing he wouldnt be the best choice
@ chris: i dont think koscielny is the last signing!! a GK and another CB will surely come in. along with cole!!
@Mark Wellington: How foolish of me, I apologise.
Schwienstiger anyone?
hi gooner chris
any news on schwarzer or joe cole?
oh wow, so excited i nearly fell asleep.
Anyone think that Sami Khedira would be a good signing?
He’s replaced Ballack and done brilliantly.
Nearly 6ft 3in and has protected their ponderous centre backs.
Only 23 years old and would have thought Stuggart could be persuaded to sell
10 mill for this guy,we are getting robbed
Lol!! Im not saying nothing!! Im by far more excited by the news that we’ll have the clock back were it belongs..
10 MILLION?? we should use every fuckin penney in a right way!!
we are not real madrid or man city !!!
geez!! 10 million for this guy! and he refused to put up 2 exta fuckin million for xabi!!
if arsene thinks dat hez gd he iz gd end off, jus look at vermaelen b honest we hardly knew anythin bout him every1 doubted in his abilities even tony adams n wat happened? he got into da pfa team. n he also 10million! wenger iz no fool if he thinks dis guy iz quality den he deffo iz . IN ARSENE WE TRUST!!
10 mil is really good price. The market is so inflated now. Look at YAYA going to ManCity for 26 mil ponds. David Villa over 35, David Silva 24mil. So 10 mil for a Center back is pretty good.
Everybody is bleating on about ‘ we could have got xabi for an extra 2 million/ we could have got David Villa’ but the truth is we don’t need another midfielder or striker as much as we do a decent CB… AW wouldn’t have paid 10mil for this guy if he didn’t think he was worth it! And I really can’t see this being the only signing either… At least another 2 in before the season starts.
@My Name Is Earl: exsmactly !!! The only difference is international experience…….and oh how that matters just ask Walcott, Klose, Messi, Torres or Les Blues and England btw. Int football is a crapshoot. This guy will be a another quality signing and by the end of next season a hero to us all as we pull off the triple.
Really don’t know wether to laugh or cry at some of these comments. For goodness sake! Why are you playing fantasy football with players in and out with such agression. Arsene Wenger is our manager. Arsene Wenger is also 1 of the most respected coaches in world football. Real Madrid, The FFF and The FA have been trying to get him for years. No-one else could’ve kept us within touching distance like He has over the last few, recession hit, new stadium years. Indulge in your fantasy football for fun but don’t take yourselves so seriously and presume that you could know even a tenth of what AW knows about football, and especially buying players. Its ridiculous really.
@fan: I think Villa is worth every penny,every frign penny not for Arsenal but still worth it…..Just think that tall swedish tool barca bought last year now that was a awsome on Inters part. Yo-Yo no, I also think Man City willl find no Silva lining but damn, Villa would be great for us but it will never happen…. I know ill get alot of shitestx for this but Vela could be just as effective in the league, watch how Villa plays if we can just keep Vela on his feet we will be in good shape.
What if we stayed at Highbury and had a bigger transfer budget for the last three years? What if Gallas went instead of Kolo? What if Gilberto and Flamini stayed for a couple of more years? Questions eh.
On a realistic level, Koscielny, Cristian Zapata, Khadiera, Hazard for say 40m would be good business
English xenophobs here whinge about 10mill for Koscielny but would happily pay 15+ for Cary Cahill go figure….didnt Laurent have the 3rd best Ligue 1 tackle stats of all time last year…..
Now if the manager would just get rid of Eduardo…I know everybody loves him but he’s lost it and Denilson…everybody hates him with just cause….and buy a decent big DM – Diakhate or DeJong there are a few out there…Song provides an extra CB when needed.
i think we should sign mueller. he is better than all our midfielders combined excluding fabregas.
The price tag suggest that he will partner Vermaelen.The thing is that we started with a 4million bid…I think we will sign another CB but a cheap one.I would really like G.Cahill(12m + Loan them Wilshere and somebody else).
“We could have had David Villa”. Ha ha ha ha ha. Are you having a fucking laugh. Erm Wenger said when he “Made an approach” Valencia weren’t interested in selling. Well how have they now suddenly changed their minds and sold Silva and Villa at the same time. Fuck opff we were never in the running for him.
How many people had genuinely heard of Tommy V befre he signed, I fucking didn’t and now he’s a fucking legend and our next captain. Give the new CB a chance. Wenger has obviously scouted him a lot and if he is willing to pay that much then there must be a reason. Jeez these armchair Football Managers piss me off. Erm I’ll check how good he is by putting Fifa on and seeing him there! FFS!
w@ the professor sees whiles sitting the students cannot whiles standing
From Joe Cole – how many times does he contradict himself in these few sentences…
“Now, though, the Premier League is the best league in the world. That means it is much tougher for kids to break through.
“Maybe we’re paying the price for having the best league in the world.”
Cole also backed up Franz Beckenbauer’s assessment that there is too much “kick and rush” in English football.
“Every team I have played for – from West Ham to Chelsea to England – want to hit the front players as early as possible,” he said.
“You won’t get away with that at international level. It’s about technique, keeping control of the ball, passing and moving.
“Chelsea do that more than other teams in the Premier League, and that’s why we’ve been successful, and it’s the same with Manchester United and Arsenal.
“I was brought up that way and that’s always been the way forward.
“Maybe it’s time to really look at how we are teaching kids to play. Is there talent coming through? To be honest, I don’t know.”
. . . . . . Hope his signing will be fruitful. Lets wait and see how good he is. Welcome Emirates Laurent, me wishing U all the best.
Chris Smalling snatched by Manure is another reason why Wenger must get Gary Cahill fast. With Cahill and Djourou deputise, Kos and Vermster will get good cover. Manuel Neuer or Joe Hart would be fantastic goalie then. On our midfield, Wenger also must get Jack Rodwell and team him up with Jack Wilshere, Walcott and Cesc. With a solid defense and anchoring midfield, RVP and Chamakh upfront (Arshavin, Bendtner, Vela too) means a free scoring season for Arsenal.
@guner:
nasri is better than him!!WAY BETTER!
the prof shud take a look at anthony annan from the ghana team.he can b back-up 2 song or b our essien
If Wenger signed him with repeated improve bids then he must be quality. Anyways our defence can’t go any worse than last season’s
Another Cygan? Arsene is following his rule book to the letter. Buy French unknown each time and develop him for the French national team.
will this or any other signing realy happen, this cesc thing is a smoke screen, it will divert suporters attention and make arsene look less foolish when he doesnot sign anyone.
According to the London Evening Standard, Arsenal and Lorient are still negotating about the bonus of the Koscielny deal. (1,5 million pound).
So I think the announcement set to be delayed until the end of the week.
That pic of Koscielny at the top of this page…. perhaps an indication he’ll opt for Poland rather than France if called up??
Well Gooner chris nothing has been announced yet on this guy……
Jerome Boateng looked good and cheap but alas he is gone to Man City!!
I think ppl should realise arsenal dont have money cause if we did have money this deal would have gone quicker.
IE nasri, arshavin, vermaelen, even chamakh have taken years and shows arsenal are tight.
I mean what the hell is going on with the board. It surely isnt wenger he isnt being given the funds by the greedy board who want the money all to themselves
the board are a fucking disgrace! WE pay the highest prices in europe for season tickets and when we want arsenal to spend an extra couple of million on gary cahill (next david o’leary) but instead they waste our money on kos and also waste our last season with cesc, coz with this guy and TV5 at the back we will win fuck all… How could we go from the best defenders in england (adams, keown, winterburn, dixon, o’leary, younger campbell, bould) to these foreign shambles (TV5, clichy,Kos, Djourou, traoure, gallas, sagna, silvestre, )
monday has come and gone and no announcement.
Oh and @ The racirt Left Hand Of HENRY, your obviously not an arsenal fan.
arsene wenger will not buy a good player(that everyone wants him to) even if his life depends on it, please tell me in the name of many things sacred why gary cahill, steve taylor or hangeland aren’t playing for arsenal right now? i think he has this messiah thing and has lost touch with reality. doing what is popular isn’t wrong always let go of your pants arsene!
im not racist, im just pointing out that we have not won anything with no british spine, yet when we did we had one of the greatest teams ever… Now we have a load of players that have great technical ability but don’t have the same pride that british players do, in that sence it saddens me, an arsenal fan to say that AW policy in the transfer window has failed
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