page_title: Laurent Koscielny
section_title: 2010–11 season
hierarchical_section_title: Laurent Koscielny / Club career / Arsenal / 2010–11 season
caption_attribution_description: From left to right, Danny Graham, Laurent Koscielny, Nathan Dyer and Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal vs Swansea, 2011.
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: Arsenal confirmed the signing on 7 July 2010 and Koscielny was handed the club's number 6 shirt, previously worn by Philippe Senderos, who had moved to Fulham earlier in the summer. Wenger explained he bought Koscielny due to the fact he added height to the team and Arsenal were low on centre backs. Koscielny made his debut against Barnet in a pre-season friendly in July 2010. One month later in his competitive debut against Liverpool at Anfield, he was sent off in the 94th minute for a second bookable offence. Both of his yellow cards were shown beyond 90 minutes. The game ended in a 1–1 draw with both teams having debut players sent off. He scored his first goal for Arsenal on 11 September 2010, in a 4–1 win against Bolton Wanderers.
  Koscielny made his debut in European competition on 15 September 2010, when he partnered Sébastien Squillaci in a 6–0 win over Braga at the Emirates Stadium. Koscielny was praised for performances against Sunderland and made a brilliant tackle against Tottenham Hotspur to stop Aaron Lennon from scoring during their Football League Cup tie. On 27 October, he blocked a shot off the line and provided an assist to Theo Walcott against Newcastle United in the fourth round of the League Cup, where Arsenal went on to win the match 4–0 at St James' Park. Koscielny was given a straight red card in Arsenal's 0–1 loss at home against Newcastle United on 7 November 2010. This was his second sending off of the season.
  On 25 January 2011, Koscielny scored the second goal in the 3–0 win over Ipswich Town in the League Cup semi-final second leg win at the Emirates Stadium. Throughout January 2011, Koscielny and Johan Djourou were a part of a defence that did not concede a goal in the Premier League. On 1 February, he scored his third goal of the season, which proved to be the winner in a 2–1 turn around victory over Everton. Koscielny had arguably his best performance to date for Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 match against Barcelona. The match ended in a 2–1 home win for Arsenal. Koscielny's performances were applauded and praised in many media reports of the game. Former Arsenal defender, Martin Keown, said his performance was "impressive" and "magnificent throughout". On 27 February, in the last minute of the 2011 Football League Cup Final, Koscielny was involved in a mix-up with his goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, which resulted in Birmingham City striker Obafemi Martins scoring the winning goal.
caption: Koscielny playing for Arsenal on 10 September 2011 against Swansea City.
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