5 longest-serving players in the current Arsenal squad
Loyalty is a word that doesn’t seem to exist in the vocabulary of the modern day footballer. It is hard to find a player willing to stick by a team and their fans through thick and thin or vice versa, but there are always exceptions. Here is a look at Arsenal’s most loyal warriors in recent times.
* Considering players only from the time they made their senior-team competitive debuts for Arsenal.
#5 Laurent Koscielny - 7 years and 1 month
Laurent Koscielny was signed by Wenger in 2010 from French side Tours for £8.5 million. The Frenchman was brought in to pair Thomas Vermaelen at the back after defenders Senderos, Gallas and Silvestre had left the club.
Since then the clever centre-back has made over 250 appearances for the North London club and has become the team’s vice-captain.
The French international recently signed a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2020. Koscielny has stated that Arsenal is a big part of his life; his children were born in London and are true Gooners
Ligue 1 giants Marseille placed a bid for the defender this summer but Koscielny himself rejected the move saying he owes his loyalty to Arsene Wenger. The 32-year-old is still holding onto his dream of winning the Premier League with the Gunners.