Nou Camp side take real interest in Emirates Stadium defender.
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Barcelona have reportedly set their sights on Arsenal centre-back Laurent Koscielny according to a number of reports including one from Spanish source Sport.es.
Barcelona are understandably keen to strengthen their defence as Tito Vilanova, though blessed with a myriad of attacking options, doesn’t have all that many experienced and capable centre-backs in his armoury, indeed he basically has Gerard Pique and veteran Carles Puyol. This has left the La Liga side frequently having to use Javier Mascherano as a back-up option.
Given the history of Arsenal players moving to join the Catalan side; Thierry Henry, Alexander Hleb, Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song to name four, Gunners fans may well fear interest from Barcelona in arguably their most effective defender.
Koscielny and Per Mertesacker are Arsene Wenger’s central defensive pairing of choice and the duo worked excellently in the final two months of last term, form that helped the North London side to secure that all important top four spot.
Arsene Wenger has stated he has no intention of selling any of his top talents this summer but will he be able to prevent the French international from leaving to join Barcelona if he has his head turned by interest from the Nou Camp side.
27 year old Koscielny moved to Arsenal in a £8.4m deal from Lorient in July 2010 and was capped at senior level the following February.
Koscielny has made 119 appearances for Arsenal.