Laurent Koscielny wants Jamie Vardy at Arsenal…along with a host of other big names to lift title
Central defender insists fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger is still best man for the job and that the players 'owe him a lot'
LAURENT KOSCIELNY is relying on an injection of new blood to finally bring the title back to Arsenal and is hopeful that Jamie Vardy will be one of those new arrivals.
The Gunners have activated a £20million buy-out clause in Vardy’s Leicester contract but the striker remains undecided about a possible move to the Emirates.
But centre-half Koscielny has no doubts that the Footballer of the Year would be a welcome addition and says: “Jamie Vardy is very hard to play against because he likes to use the depth of the pitch and is very good at getting behind the defence.
“In front of goal, he doesn’t think - he feels the situation and he shoots as soon as he can.
“He has proved this season at Leicester that he can be a great striker and he has also scored some goals with England.”
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Koscielny remains frustrated by Arsenal’s failure to mount a serious title challenge to Champions Leicester but insists that Arsene Wenger is still the right man for the job.
And he is relying on the manager to follow the signing of £30m Granit Xhaka with more big name buys in the coming weeks.
Speaking ahead of France’s Euro 2016 opener against Romania on Friday, he said: “Although Arsenal finished second this season it is still a disappointment and if you look at the whole campaign we can have regrets.
“I think we had the means to compete to win this title but our results were too inconsistent, especially in February and March when we took very few points.
“As soon as you miss an opportunity to get back to your opponents in England, it’s very difficult to close the gap.
“Some injuries hurt us for the whole season like Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin and Danny Welbeck so now we have to learn the lessons next time, probably with some new players who will allow us to reach another level and have more consistent results.
“I understand the frustration of the fans because we haven’t won the title for a long time.
“But Arsene Wenger is a very good coach and he is still the best man for the job.
“He has been here for many years and has seen it all. I have so much respect for him as a coach and as a man.
“He’s a very nice who has done amazing things at this club. He has helped Arsenal to grow and now we have a beautiful stadium and unbelievable facilities.
“All the players owe him a lot so now it’s up to us to what is necessary to win these titles.”