page_title: Laurent Koscielny
section_title: 2011–12 season
hierarchical_section_title: Laurent Koscielny / Club career / Arsenal / 2011–12 season
caption_attribution_description: Fernando Torres and Laurent Koscielny, Aresenal vs Chelsea, April 2012.
context_page_description: Laurent Koscielny is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre back and captains Ligue 1 club Bordeaux.
  Born in Tulle, Koscielny began his football career playing for a host of youth clubs before moving to Guingamp in 2003, where he quickly progressed through the youth ranks, making his professional debut the following season. After becoming frustrated at being played out of position as a right back, he joined Tours for an undisclosed fee, quickly establishing himself as the team's star player in his desired position, ultimately aiding in the club's promotion into Ligue 1, while also being named in the Ligue 2 Team of the Season. Koscielny continued his impressive performances following a €1.7 million transfer to fellow French outfit Lorient in 2009, receiving multiple plaudits for his performances, largely cultivating a reputation as a clever, agile, ball-playing defender. His achievements and footballing potential attracted Arsenal, ultimately moving to the Premier League side for a fee of £8.45 million the following season.
context_section_description: Koscielny started the 2011–12 season alongside Thomas Vermaelen in central defence. Koscielny was injured and taken off the pitch 10 minutes into a 2–0 home loss to Liverpool on 20 August 2011. However, he returned to the starting line-up Arsenal's biggest ever Premier League defeat, losing 8–2 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. On 17 September, Koscielny scored an own goal as Arsenal lost 4–3 to Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League. He went on to be named man of the match away at Olympique Marseille in the Champions League, where Arsenal won 1–0 at the Stade Vélodrome, keeping their first clean sheet in a Champions League away game since 18 August 2009 against Celtic, where the Gunners had won 2–0.
  On 29 October, Koscielny received praise for his solid performance in Arsenal's 5–3 away win against Chelsea. He scored his first goal of the season on 2 January 2012 in a 2–1 away defeat against Fulham. He scored his first Champions League goal against A.C. Milan in a 3–0 victory in the round of 16 second leg. On 13 May 2012, he scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory against West Bromwich Albion to ensure that Arsenal finished third in the Premier League. He was voted as the team's fourth most important player by the fans in Arsenal's Player of the Season poll for his performances throughout the 2011–12 season.
caption: Koscielny and Fernando Torres in a Premier League match on 21 April 2012.
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