Laurent Koscielny thanks Arsenal boss for having the ‘balls’ to sign him when he was a ‘nobody’

Defender played just one top-flight season before earning switch in 2010 and admits he’s indebted to manager

LAURENT KOSCIELNY has thanked Arsene Wenger for having the ‘balls’ to sign him when he was ‘nobody’.

Arsenal vice-captain Koscielny is in his seventh season under the French boss and has developed into one of Europe’s top defenders after a slow start to his Premier League career.

Wenger took a gamble when he signed Koscielny from Lorient in 2010, with the centre-back having played just one season of top-flight football.

And Koscielny admits he owes everything to Wenger for rolling the dice all those years ago, telling L’Equipe: “I am in the French national team and at Arsenal thanks to the boss.

“It was he who brought me here. It was he who had the balls to buy me from Lorient when I was a nobody. It was my first year in Ligue 1, at an average club in Ligue 1.

“He took a punt on me for a club like Arsenal which is one of the biggest ten clubs in Europe. He took a risk in bringing me here, to make me progress and grow as a player and a man. I will be grateful my entire career.”

Koscielny also revealed he would never swap the Gunners for Paris Saint-Germain, explaining he couldn’t bear to live in the French capital.

Koscielny added: “Oh no, I will never live in Paris. Nor will I play there! I will finish my career in England or at my old club, at Lorient.

“I do not see myself in Paris. I would prefer to live in London that Paris. People are calmer than in Paris, there is respect. I have everything to be able to enjoy myself as a footballer and I do not know if I would find that anywhere else.”