In a surprise move, Arsenal have announced the signing of centre-back Laurent Koscielny from League One team Leyton Orient (or possible French Ligue 1 team Lorient, I'm not sure which).
Koscielny is so far uncapped at international level but that is now likely to change as he is qualified to play for either France or Poland and they are likely to be fighting over him once he is thrust into the limelight at Arsenal.
A lot of so-called Arsenal 'fans' have already voiced their disappointment at the signing without having seen him play, but Arsene Wenger is confident that Koscielny is the real deal. He said:
"Koscielny is a central defender with great ability who performed extremely well last season for Lorient. We identified him as a very strong centre half who has made big progress very quickly. He has shown he is mentally strong, he's a fighter and a very strong competitor. Koscielny is a great addition to our squad."
Koscielny meanwhile is also understandably excited to be joining Arsenal, saying:
"I'm very excited to be joining Arsenal. They are one of the biggest teams in Europe with many great players. I'm really looking forward to playing in the English Premier League and the Champions League with my new club. Also, in Arsène Wenger, Arsenal has one of the best managers in the world and I can't wait to work with him and do my best for the Arsenal supporters."
He is confident that he can settle into the side quickly and help bring the Premier League title back to Arsenal:
"I am very confident," he said. "It takes a lot of work especially in the defence. You need to know your colleagues very well and you need to work hard every day. It is important to have those relationships quickly. I hope we will have a fantastic season this year and get that Premier League title. I came here to improve myself and win titles."
Pictures of Koscielny seem hard to come by (though I am assured that the player does actually exist). You can view exclusive pictures of our new signing on the Official Arsenal Website.
New keeper announcement soon
In other exciting news, according to ArsenalInsider, Arsene Wenger has said that there will be an announcement about our keeper situation after the World Cup:
"Manuel Almunia Rivero is a talented goalkeeper. In training, he is superb, the only problem is that he gets nervous on big matches, thereby making silly mistakes. After the World Cup, we will be making an announcement on goalkeeping."
What this means I'm not sure, but it could be that a new keeper (possibly Eduardo or more likely Mark Schwarzer) will be announced with Manuel Almunia possibly leaving. Time will tell, but I'm excited.
If it is Schwarzer, I will be reasonably happy. I'd rather have Joe Hart or Eduardo (the other one, who plays in goal for Portugal), but perhaps they aren't realistic targets.
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