It has been over six months since the Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny last appeared in a competitive match for us, but after a frustrating summer spent watching France win the World Cup without him, and then watching the rise of our new back line, he is now ready to come back as our leader.
His return could not have come at a better time as Rob Holding has now been ruled out for the rest of the season, and all eyes will be on his performance when we face Qarabag on Thursday. Bernd Leno is looking forward to having our captain and leader back on the pitch. The German keeper told Arsenal.com: “In training you see how he is talking to other players,”
“We have many young players and he talks to them and for me he is a big personality in the team, in the dressing room.
“Before Tottenham, he was not in the squad but five minutes before the game he said many, many good things about the history of the game, how important it is for the fans, the club, every player, so he is the perfect captain for us.
“He is a big personality and of course he has big quality. I think we should give him the time [to play]. The coach is calm with him because he was a long time injured.
“I am happy for him that maybe he will play [against Qarabag on Thursday], I think he will play because he needs the confidence to play. His body needs also the feeling for the game.
“Of course, he trained a long time for us but the games are more difficult because the game is different for your head. I am happy for him that he will maybe start on Thursday and of course he will be an option for the next weeks in the [main] starting XI.”
He came through his two reserve matches okay, and we all really need him to pass this next test as we have very few defenders left that can play against Southampton next weekend.
Let’s cheer on our captain and pray he returns to his best very quickly….
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