Laurent Koscielny rejects retirement talk by targeting long-term Arsenal role

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James Olley29 November 2017

Laurent Koscielny insists his ongoing Achilles problems will not force him into premature retirement.

The Arsenal centre-back revealed in May that he requires daily treatment on a condition dating back to October 2014, when he was diagnosed with chronic tendinitis in both feet by the French Football Federation.

Koscielny turned 32 in September and has not played three games in a week since April with manager Arsene Wenger opting to rotate his squad between Premier League and Europa League engagements.

However, he believes his training regime will afford him the opportunity to play for as long as he wants, hinting he could yet continue beyond his current contract, which expires in 2020.

"I don’t think about if I will stop in one year or two years," he said. "I know I need to play like this for the end of my career but I want to play more and more years for Arsenal.

"I manage myself and do everything with my physio, with everyone who can help me, to lower the pain on my Achilles."

It will be a measure of how affected Koscielny currently is by the injury when Arsenal’s team is announced for tonight’s Premier League home game against Huddersfield.

Koscielny made his 301st appearance for the club in last weekend’s victory over Burnley and with Manchester United to come on Saturday evening, Wenger could be forgiven for sparing his on-field captain a midweek outing.

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However, Koscielny said: "I can play three games in a week. I still have a little bit of pain but if I manage myself with the boss, I am OK to play games. I know it is not a big injury but every day I need to be careful about the pain I can have.

"So, I try to manage a little bit, to change some things around me - my preparation, stretching, everything - so I try if it can help me to better and with no pain, I am happy. I am happy to play 300 games and I want to play more."

Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal have formed a cohesive defensive unit this season: Arsenal are yet to concede a goal in the five matches they have all started together – against Bournemouth, West Brom, Chelsea, Tottenham and Burnley.

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Mustafi’s revival is particularly impressive given Arsenal were willing to allow him to leave in the summer - only for a proposed move to Inter Milan to fall through - and also having missed seven matches prior to the win over Spurs with a hamstring problem.

Koscielny believes he is channelling that frustration in the right way: "He was injured for a long time and I think he was angry.

"It is normal to be hurt when you are out for two months. It is very difficult for a player to stay outside the team. He just come back and showed he wants to help the team and to win.

"This is what we want: to show on the pitch which way you want to go. Shkodran, for the last two games, showed to his team-mates he wants to win and give everything on the pitch to have the best result for the club."

Arsenal have produced two of their most resilient performances of the season in consecutive League games and will look to extend a record of 32 matches unbeaten against newly-promoted sides against Huddersfield tonight.

Koscielny has stressed the importance of repeating that level of intensity and urged Arsenal’s attacking players to remain committed to what they may consider more mundane defensive work.

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"When you feel on the pitch we are on the same level and want to go the same way, it is easier for a player to come in this team," he said.

"With the quality we have, it is the mentality we need to keep very high and push ourselves more. I can understand defending is sometimes boring for some players but we need to have them with us because it can be a big difference on the pitch when together we defend.

"We don’t have any easy games in England. We have the quality. But it is our mentality. It is not because it is a club who are promoted, we can win 5-0. They want to fight and have the best result for their club. We need to be at the same level - maybe more - because we need to have the three points.

"[Huddersfield] will play very deep, not give us a lot of space, but we need to find the solution, to be focused in our defensive zone because they will play on the counter-attack. We need to be ready for a big game. We need the three points to stay near the top of the table."

Mesut Ozil is a doubt through illness while Alex Iwobi is also struggling to be fit due to a dead leg.