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Part of the Great Wall of China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

9th century BC relief of an Assyrian attack on a walled town

Lugo's Roman walls, Galicia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

City walls in Ávila, Spain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia

A city gate with its towers, the defensive walls, and the city ditch from the 13th century in Metz, France.

Defensive wall in Stargard Szczeciński, Poland

Part of the Wall in San Francisco de Campeche, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Defensive wall, Taroudant, Morocco

Model of the Lines of Communication built around London in 1642 at the start of the First English Civil War and demolished at the end of the war in 1647.

Aerial view of Neuf-Brisach (Alsace) with walls and fortifications built by Vauban after 1697.

View of the Berlin Wall

The medieval fortress overlooking the city of Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia.

Medieval churches visible beyond the Renaissance defensive walls of Famagusta, Cyprus

A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Hadrian's Wall, and the metaphorical Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial boundaries. Beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions — representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced.

Existing ancient walls are almost always masonry structures, although brick and timber-built variants are also known. Depending on the topography of the area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect, elements of the terrain (e.g. rivers or coastlines) may be incorporated in order to make the wall more effective.

Walls may only be crossed by entering the appropriate city gate and are often supplemented with towers. In the Middle Ages, the right of a settlement to build a defensive wall was a privilege, and was usually granted by the so-called "right of crenellation"^{[citation needed]} on a medieval fortification. The practice of building these massive walls, though having its origins in prehistory, was refined during the rise of city-states, and energetic wall-building continued into the medieval period and beyond in certain parts of Europe.

History[link]

Derawar Wall located in Bahawlpur, Pakistan

From very early history to modern times, walls have been a near necessity for every city. Uruk in ancient Sumer (Mesopotamia) is one of the world's oldest known walled cities. Before that, the city (or rather proto-city) of Jericho in what is now the West Bank had a wall surrounding it as early as the 8th millennium BC.

The Assyrians deployed large labour forces to build new palaces, temples and defensive walls.^[1]

Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were also fortified. By about 3500 B.C., hundreds of small farming villages dotted the Indus floodplain. Many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. The stone and mud brick houses of Kot Diji were clustered behind massive stone flood dykes and defensive walls, for neighboring communities quarreled constantly about the control of prime agricultural land.^[2] Mundigak (c. 2500 B.C.) in present day south-east Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks.^[3]

Babylon was one of the most famous cities of the ancient world, especially as a result of the building program of Nebuchadnezzar, who expanded the walls and built the Ishtar Gate.

Exceptions were few — notably, ancient Sparta and ancient Rome did not have walls for a long time, choosing to rely on their militaries for defense instead. Initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled on top of each other without mortar.

In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements known as oppida, whose walls seem partially influenced by those built in the Mediterranean. The fortifications were continuously expanded and improved.

In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). In classical era Greece, the city of Athens built a long set of parallel stone walls called the Long Walls that reached their guarded seaport at Piraeus.

Large tempered earth (i.e. rammed earth) walls were built in ancient China since the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1050 BC), as the capital at ancient Ao had enormous walls built in this fashion (see siege for more info). Although stone walls were built in China during the Warring States (481-221 BC), mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In terms of China's longest and most impressive fortification, the Great Wall had been built since the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), although its present form was mostly an engineering feat and remodeling of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) during the 15th and 16th centuries. The large walls of Pingyao serve as one example. Likewise, the famous walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were established in the early 15th century by the Yongle Emperor.

The Romans fortified their cities with massive, mortar-bound stone walls. The most famous of these are the largely extant Aurelian Walls of Rome and the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, together with partial remains elsewhere. These are mostly city gates, like the Porta Nigra in Trier or Newport Arch in Lincoln.

Apart from these, the early Middle Ages also saw the creation of some towns built around castles. These cities were only rarely protected by simple stone walls and more usually by a combination of both walls and ditches. From the 12th century AD hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded all across Europe, who very often obtained the right of fortification soon afterwards.

The founding of urban centers was an important means of territorial expansion and many cities, especially in eastern Europe, were founded precisely for this purpose during the period of Eastern Colonisation. These cities are easy to recognise due to their regular layout and large market spaces. The fortifications of these settlements were continuously improved to reflect the current level of military development.

During the Renaissance era, the Venetians raised great walls around cities threatened by the Ottoman empire. Among the finest examples are the walled cities of Nicosia and Famagusta in Cyprus and the fortifications of Candia and Chania in Crete, which still stand to this day.

Composition[link]

At its most simple, a defensive wall consists of a wall enclosure and its gates. For the most part, the top of the walls were accessible, with the outside of the walls having tall parapets with embrasures or merlons. North of the Alps, this passageway at the top of the walls occasionally had a roof.

In addition to this, many different enhancements were made over the course of the centuries:

• City ditch: a ditch dug in front of the walls, occasionally filled with water.
• Gate tower: a tower built next to, or on top of the city gates to better defend the city gates.
• Wall tower: a tower built on top of a segment of the wall, which usually extended outwards slightly, so as to be able to observe the exterior of the walls on either side. In addition to arrow slits, ballistae, catapults and cannons could be mounted on top for extra defence.
• Pre-wall: wall built outside the wall proper, usually of lesser height — the space in between was usually further subdivided by additional walls.
• Additional obstacles in front of the walls.

The defensive towers of west and south European fortifications in the Middle Ages were often very regularly and uniformly constructed (cf. Ávila, Provins), whereas Central European city walls tend to show a variety of different styles. In these cases the gate and wall towers often reach up to considerable heights, and gates equipped with two towers on either side are much rarer. Apart from having a purely military and defensive purpose, towers also played a representative and artistic role in the conception of a fortified complex. The architecture of the city thus competed with that of the castle of the noblemen and city walls were often a manifestation of the pride of a particular city.

Urban areas outside the city walls, so-called Vorstädte, were often enclosed by their own set of walls and integrated into the defense of the city. These areas were often inhabited by the poorer population and held the "noxious trades". In many cities, a new wall was built once the city had grown outside of the old wall. This can often still be seen in the layout of the city, for example in Nördlingen, and sometimes even a few of the old gate towers are preserved, such as the white tower in Nuremberg. Additional constructions prevented the circumvention of the city, through which many important trade routes passed, thus ensuring that tolls were paid when the caravans passed through the city gates, and that the local market was visited by the trade caravans. Furthermore, additional signaling and observation towers were frequently built outside the city, and were sometimes fortified in a castle-like fashion. The border of the area of influence of the city was often partially or fully defended by elaborate ditches, walls and/or hedges. The crossing points were usually guarded by gates or gate houses. These defenses were regularly checked by riders, who often also served as the gate keepers. Long stretches of these defenses can still be seen to this day, and even some gates are still intact. To further protect their territory, rich cities also established castles in their area of influence. A famous example of this practice is the Romanian "Dracula Castle" at Bran/Törzburg, which was intended to protect Kronstadt (today's Braşov).

The city walls were often connected to the fortifications of hill castles via additional walls . Thus the defenses were made up of city and castle fortifications taken together. Several examples of this are preserved, for example in Germany Hirschhorn on the Neckar, Königsberg and Pappenheim, Franken, Burghausen in Oberbayern and many more. A few castles were more directly incorporated into the defensive strategy of the city (e.g. Nuremberg, Zons, Carcassonne), or the cities were directly outside the castle as a sort of "pre-castle" (Coucy-le-Chateau, Conwy and others). Larger cities often had multiple stewards — for example Augsburg was divided into a Reichstadt and a bishopal (clerical) city. These different parts were often separated by their own fortifications.

Chinese and Korean troops assault the Japanese forces of Hideyoshi in the Siege of Ulsan Castle during the Imjin War (1592–1598).

With the development of firearms came the necessity to expand the existing installation, which occurred in multiples stages. Firstly, additional, half-circular towers were added in the interstices between the walls and pre-walls (s.a.) in which a handful of cannons could be placed. Soon after, reinforcing structures — or "bastions" — were added in strategically relevant positions, e.g. at the gates or corners. A well-preserved example of this is the Spitalbastei in Rothenburg or the bastions built as part of the 17th-century walls surrounding Derry, a city in Ulster in the north of Ireland; however, at this stage the cities were still only protected by relatively thin walls which could offer little resistance to the cannons of the time. Therefore new, star forts with numerous cannons and thick earth walls reinforced by stone were built. These could resist cannon fire for prolonged periods of time. However, these massive fortifications severely limited the growth of the cities, as it was much more difficult to move them as compared to the simple walls previously employed — to make matters worse, it was forbidden to build "outside the city gates" for strategic reasons and the cities became more and more densely populated as a result.

Decline[link]

In the wake of city growth and the ensuing change of defensive strategy, focusing more on the defense of forts around cities, most city walls were demolished. Also, the invention of gunpowder rendered walls less effective, as siege cannons could then be used to blast through walls, allowing armies to simply march through. Nowadays, the presence of former city fortifications can often only be deduced from the presence of ditches or parks.

Furthermore, some street names hint at the presence of fortifications in times past, for example when words such as "wall" or "glacis" occur.

In the 19th century, less emphasis was placed on preserving the fortifications for the sake of their architectural or historical value — on the one hand, complete fortifications were restored (Carcassonne), on the other hand many structures were demolished in an effort to modernize the cities. A notable exception in this is the "monument preservation" law by the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, which led to the nearly complete preservation of many impressive monuments such as the Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl. The countless small fortified towns in the Franconia region were also preserved as a consequence of this edict.

Modern era[link]

Walls and fortified wall structures were still built in the modern era. They did not, however, have the original purpose of being a structure able to resist a prolonged siege or bombardment.

Berlin's city wall from the 1730s to the 1860s was partially made of wood. Its primary purpose was to enable the city to impose tolls on goods and, secondarily, also served to prevent the desertion of soldiers from the garrison in Berlin.

The Berlin Wall was a different form of wall, in that it did not exclusively serve the purpose of protection of an enclosed settlement. One of its purposes was to prevent the crossing of the Berlin border between the GDR and the West German exclave of west-Berlin.

Defensive walls have been built in Korea along the De-militarised Zone.

In the 20th century and after, many enclaves Jewish settlements in Israel were and are surrounded by fortified walls, as are many parts of Belfast, Northern Ireland by the Belfast Peace Lines.

Additionally, in some countries, different embassies may be grouped together in a single "embassy district," enclosed by a fortified complex with walls and towers — this usually occurs in regions where the embassies run a high risk of being target of attacks. An early example of such a compound was the Legation Quarter in Beijing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Most of these "modern" city walls are made of steel and concrete. Vertical concrete plates are put together so as to allow the least space in between them, and are rooted firmly in the ground. The top of the wall is often protruding and beset with barbed wire in order to make climbing them more difficult. These walls are usually built in straight lines and covered by watchtowers at the corners. Double walls, i.e. two walls with an interstitial "zone of fire" (cf. the Berlin wall) are rare.

The only extant city walls in North America are the historic ones in Old Quebec City, Canada.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Defensive walls

• List of cities with defensive walls
• List of town walls in England and Wales
• Chinese city wall
• Citadel
• City gate
• Fortification
• List of walls
• Wall
• Stone wall
• Medieval fortification
• Siege
• Murus Gallicus
• Murus Dacicus
• Mural crown

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Monika Porsche: Stadtmauer und Stadtentstehung — Untersuchungen zur frühen Stadtbefestigung im mittelalterlichen Deutschen Reich. - Hertingen, 2000. ISBN 3-930327-07-4
• Defensive Walls in German Wikipedia

Thomas Vermaelen

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Vermaelen
Date of birth	(1985-11-14) 14 November 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth	Kapellen, Belgium
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	5
Youth career
1991–1999	Germinal Ekeren
1999–2000	Germinal Beerschot
2000–2003	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2009	Ajax	98	(8)
2004–2005	→ RKC Waalwijk (loan)	13	(2)
2009–	Arsenal	67	(13)
National team‡
2002–2003	Belgium U18	5	(0)
2003–2004	Belgium U19	7	(0)
2004–2007	Belgium U21	13	(1)
2008	Belgium U23	5	(0)
2006–	Belgium	34	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:07, 13 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:32, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Thomas Vermaelen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoː.mɑs vər.ˈmaː.lə(n)]) (born 14 November 1985) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Premier League club Arsenal and the Belgium national football team. Being left-footed, he usually plays as a left-sided centre back and can play at left-back as well.^[2] He is currently the vice-captain of Arsenal, with Robin van Persie his best friend named captain. His key attributes include aerial ability and he is quick with the ball at his feet.

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Vermaelen, though quite small for a central defender, started his career in his home country with Germinal Ekeren, which later changed its name to Germinal Beerschot after a merger.

Vermaelen was with Ajax from 2000 - 2009.

Ajax[link]

This section requires expansion.

Vermaelen joined the academy of Dutch club Ajax. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2004 in a 2–0 away win over Volendam. It was however the only match he played during the season in which Ajax won the Eredivisie championship. He was sent on loan to RKC Waalwijk for the 2004–05 season. At RKC he was not a first team regular, but made thirteen appearances in which he scored three goals.

His breakthrough came when he returned to Ajax and won the KNVB Cup. Performances that season resulted in a call-up to the Belgium national football team. Ajax won the Johan Cruijff Shield and another KNVB Cup the following season and in 2007, they won the Johan Cruijff Shield for the second consecutive time.^[3] He forged a partnership with fellow academy graduate John Heitinga and later Jan Vertonghen when Heitinga left for Spain. Following the departure of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in mid-season, Vermaelen served as captain of Ajax for the remainder of the 2008–09 season and he played mostly as a left-back.

Arsenal[link]

Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax for an initial fee of €10 million (rising to €12 million) on 19 June 2009, signing a four-year contract.^[4][5] After Kolo Touré surrendered the number 5 jersey to him upon joining Manchester City,^[6] Vermaelen, with William Gallas, formed Arsenal's central defence pairing. Vermaelen made his Premier League debut on 15 August 2009 in 1–6 away win against Everton, and scored in the 37th minute.^[7] He became the 84th Arsenal player to score on their debut.^[8] He then scored a brace against Wigan in a 4–0 victory.^[9] Arsenal fans voted him as their player of the month twice in a row on Arsenal.com,^[10][11] and affectionately nicknamed him the 'Verminator'.^[2] However, he scored an own goal in a home match against Chelsea when a cross came in from Ashley Cole. The game finished 3–0 to Chelsea.^[12] He became notable for being a goal scoring defender, due to his spectacular 25 yard left footed goal against Blackburn Rovers and many headed goals during the first half of Arsenal's 2009–10 season.^[13] In recognition for his contributions, he was nominated for the Belgian Sportsman of the year award^[14] and was also included in the PFA team of the season.^[15] Vermaelen finished the season with 45 games and 8 goals in all competitions under his belt.

Vermaelen and team mates after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scores

In the pre-season of the 2010–11 season, Vermaelen captained Arsenal in an Emirates Cup match against A.C. Milan with regular captain Cesc Fàbregas and vice captains Manuel Almunia and Robin van Persie not in the squad.^[16] Vermaelen started all of the first three Arsenal matches of the season before suffering an Achilles injury on international duty with Belgium.^[17] He had a new injury setback when Arsène Wenger reported that the achilles problem would keep him out of action until 2011.^[18] On 17 March 2011, Arsène Wenger confirmed that Vermaelen would miss the remainder of the season with a new injury setback.,^[19] but on 26 April, Vermaelen played 90 minutes in his first competitive game after 8 months in a reserves game against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 28 April. On 8 May, he was included in Arsenal's 18-man squad travelling to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, however, Vermaelen was an unused sub, but on 15 May, he finally returned, in Arsenal's 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa and played the full 90 minutes. Following Fàbregas' transfer to Barcelona in August 2011, Vermaelen was named vice-captain of Arsenal, with Van Persie named captain.^[20] On 6 September 2011 he had treatment on his Achilles tendon which could rule Vermaelan out for at least six weeks. On 18 October 2011 he signed a contract extension to keep him at the club for an additional four years. He made his long-awaited return against Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round of the Carling Cup, where he captained the side to a 2–1 victory at the Emirates Stadium. He suffered a suspected calf injury in the 84th minute, but to Arsenal's relief, he stated in the post-match interview it was just a cramp. On 1 November, Vermaelen started his first UEFA Champions League game in 3 months against Olympique de Marseille and played a key role in helping keep a clean sheet for the Gunners in which the game ended 0–0. Vermaelen scored Arsenal's second goal in their 3–0 win over West Brom on 5 November. He also featured in the 1–1 draw with Fulham on 26 November, when he scored a 65th minute own-goal but salvaged a point with an 82nd minute equaliser for Arsenal. On 3 December, Vermaelen scored the second goal against Wigan to win the match 4–0.^[21] On 12 March 2012, Vermaelen scored the winner in the 95th minute against Newcastle United. He had run the entire length of the pitch to score a half-volley from Theo Walcott's cross. In the following game he converted a Robin Van Persie corner, headering home Arsenal's only goal in a 1-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. On 16 April 2012, he headed home a Tomáš Rosický cross against Wigan Athletic to make it 1-2 with Wigan having taken a two-goal lead at the Emirates. However the scoreline remained the same. Manager Arsene Wenger has called him a defensive rock and his partnership with Laurent Koscielny is strong and enables Arsenal to build from the back.

International career[link]

Vermaelen (left) with Edgar Davids and Gregory van der Wiel.

A former youth international, Vermaelen had participated in the U-19 Championships and the 2007 U-21 European Championships. He made his senior debut for Belgium at age 20 against Luxembourg in March 2006. On 8 October 2009, he was named Belgium captain^[22] prior to the games against Turkey and Estonia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers but could not prevent the Belgians from finishing fourth in their group. He was recalled to squad for 14 November friendly against Hungary and scored his first goal for his country by tapping in a Eden Hazard cross. Vermaelen is regarded as one of the best Belgian defenders of his generation. Vermaelen wears the number 3 jersey and he has also won 34 caps for them and regularly partners Vincent Kompany who has 47 caps to his name.^[23]

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 November 2009	Jules Ottenstadion, Ghent, Belgium	Hungary	2–0	3–0	Friendly

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 15 May 2012

Honours[link]

Vermaelen (left) with Jan Vertonghen at Ajax.

Club[link]

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2003–04
• KNVB Cup (2): 2005–06, 2006–07
• Johan Cruijff Shield (2): 2006, 2007

Individual[link]

• PFA Premier League Team of the Year (1): 2009–10

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Thomas Vermaelen

• Official Arsenal.com profile
• Thomas Vermaelen photos
• Goal.com profile
• Thomas Vermaelen career stats at Soccerbase
• Belgium Stats at Belgian FA

Belgium squads v t e Belgium squad – 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Bailly 2 De Roover 3 Colpaert 4 Vermaelen 5 Mulemo 6 Lombaerts 7 Overmeire 8 Haroun 9 Mirallas 10 Vertonghen 11 Martens 12 Boeckx 13 Gillet 14 De Mul 15 Pocognoli 16 De Sutter 17 Fellaini 18 Ciman 19 De Smet 20 Vanden Borre 21 Cordier 22 Blondel 23 Witsel Coach: De Sart v t e Belgium squad – 2008 Summer Olympics Fourth Place 1 Bailly 2 De Roover 3 Kompany 4 Vermaelen 5 Pocognoli 6 Fellaini 7 De Mul 8 Haroun 9 Mirallas 10 Vertonghen 11 Martens 12 Ma-Kalambay 13 Ciman 14 Mulemo 15 Simaeys 16 Vanden Borre 17 De Smet 18 Dembélé 19 Odjidja-Ofoe Coach: De Sart

Laurent Koscielny

Koscielny playing for Arsenal
Personal information
Full name	Laurent Koscielny
Date of birth	(1985-09-10) 10 September 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth	Tulle, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	6
Youth career
1993–1995	Tulle Corrèze
1995–1997	Brive
1997–1998	Tulle Corrèze
1998–2002	Brive
2002–2003	Limoges
2003–2004	Guingamp
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2007	Guingamp	41	(0)
2007–2009	Tours	67	(5)
2009–2010	Lorient	35	(3)
2010–	Arsenal	63	(4)
National team‡
2011–	France	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:08, 31 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:08, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Laurent Koscielny (French pronunciation: [loˈʁɑ̃ kosjɛlˈɲi]) (born 10 September 1985) is a French footballer who plays as a defender for Arsenal. He primarily plays as a centre back but he can also play as a right back, a position where he started his career.^[2] Koscielny is a youth product of Guingamp. He is described as an aggressive, uncompromising and ball-playing defender.^[3] Koscielny was born in the city of Tulle and began his football career playing for a host of amateur and youth clubs such as Brive, Tulle Corrèze and Limoges. In 2001, he moved to the Brittany in northwestern France to play for professional club Guingamp.

In 2007, Koscielny joined Tours for an undisclosed fee to play in the third tier of the French league in 2007 and enjoyed promotion with his new side before being named in the Ligue 2 Team of the Season the following campaign.^[3] On 16 June 2009, newly promoted Ligue 1 side Lorient signed Koscielny on a four-year contract for around €1.7 million. He quickly established himself as a starter.

His performances caught the eye of Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and Arsenal confirmed the signing on 7 July 2010 and Koscielny was handed the club's number 6 shirt. Arsenal fans voted Laurent Koscielny as Arsène Wenger’s most effective signing of 2010–11 following an impressive debut campaign.^[4] Koscielny was called up to the French national team on 4 February 2011. Prior to his call up for France, Koscielny was also eligible to play for Poland, as a result of his family roots.^[5]

Career[link]

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Koscielny was born in Tulle, Corrèze. His career began in 2004 with Guingamp, a team that have produced such talents as Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda. Three years and barely forty appearances later, Koscielny was forced to take stock and drop down to the French third tier. The Frenchman made forty-six appearances for Guingamp, between 2004 and 2007, mostly as a right fullback.

In 2007, Koscielny joined Tours FC. Koscielny decided that he wanted a chance at centre back. Koscienly showed remarkable improvement in aerial ability and a positional awareness that allowed the defender to limit himself to just three yellow cards. During the 2008–09 season, Koscielny made 34 appearances, scoring 5 goals from defence. He was named in the best XI for Ligue 2 after the 2008–09 season. Koscielny moved to Lorient FC to play in Ligue 1 for 1.7million euros.

Lorient[link]

On 16 June 2009, newly promoted Ligue 1 side FC Lorient signed Koscielny on a four-year contract for around 1.7 million euros.He established himself as a starter and played in his preferred centre-back position.Over one season at the club, he scored 3 goals in 35 appearances. On 7 March 2009 Koscielny tapped in his first Ligue 1 goal against Olympique Marseille at Stade Vélodrome in the 65th minute in a 1–1 draw.^[6] Koscielny became a fan favourite when he scored his second goal with a header deep in the injury time against Montpellier in a 2–2 draw from a cross from Monterrubio.^[7]

He scored against Bordeaux 11 minutes into the match. However, he received a red card 15 minutes later for a foul in the penalty area against Marouane Chamakh, whom he is now teammates with. Koscielny helped Lorient to finish the campaign in 7th place; its best finish in Ligue 1. An impressive season culminated in reports from French daily Ouest-France that the defender was training with the Arsenal reserves ahead of an official announcement. On 6 July 2010, Koscielny agreed personal terms with Arsenal. Arsenal's initial offer for Koscielny was believed to be in the region of £4million, while they were then prepared to do a deal that would also involve youngster Francis Coquelin moving on loan in the opposite direction, which Lorient rejected.^[8] During the summer transfer window of 2010 reports began to emerge in late June that a deal had been reached to bring Koscielny to English club Arsenal for a reported sum of £8.45 million.

Arsenal[link]

Arsenal confirmed the signing on 7 July 2010 and Koscielny was handed the club's No. 6 shirt, previously worn by Philippe Senderos, who had moved to Fulham earlier in the summer. Wenger explained he bought Koscienly due to the fact he added height to the team and Arsenal were low on centre backs.^[9] 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.^[10] He scored his first goal for Arsenal on 11 September 2010, in a 4–1 win against Bolton.^[11]

Koscielny made his debut in European competition on 15 September 2010, when he partnered Sébastien Squillaci in a 6–0 win over Braga at Emirates Stadium. Koscielny was praised for performances against Sunderland and made a brilliant tackle against Tottenham to stop Aaron Lennon from scoring during their Carling 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 Carling 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.

Koscielny playing for Arsenal on 10 September 2011 against Swansea City.

On 25 January 2011, Koscielny scored the 2nd goal in the 3–0 win over Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg win at the Emirates Stadium. Throughout January 2011, Johan Djourou and himself were a part of a mean defence in the Premier that did not concede a goal. 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 with a bullet header in the dying minutes of a league clash at the Emirates. Koscielny had arguably his greatest performance to date in an Arsenal-shirt against Barcelona in the first leg of the round of 16 Champions League-match. 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. Arsenal-legend and former defender, Martin Keown, said his performance was "impressive" and "magnificent throughout".^[12] Sadly, Laurent was involved in the crucial goal for Birmingham City in the Carling Cup Final where there was a catastrophic mix-up between himself and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny. Arsenal lost the match 2–1 and their 'trophyless' drought stretched on.

Koscielny started the 2011–12 season very well with recently-fit defender Thomas Vermaelen beside him. He was injured and taken off the pitch after barely 10 minutes into the game in a 2–0 home loss to Liverpool. However, he returned in arguably Arsenal's worst match in the Premier League, losing 8–2 to Manchester United. On 17 September, Koscielny scored an own goal as Arsenal lost 4–3 to Blackburn Rovers in the Barclays Premier League. But to Koscielny's credit, himself and Per Mertesacker have built a solid foundation for Arsenal's much criticised defence. He went on to pick up a man of the match display away at Marseille, where Arsenal won 1–0 at the Stade Vélodrome, keeping their first clean sheet in a UEFA 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 in the 2011–12 season on 2 January 2012 in a 1–2 away defeat against Fulham. He scored his first Champions League goal against AC Milan in a 3-0 victory in the Round of 16's second leg. On 13 May 2012 he scored the winner in a 3-2 win against West Brom to make sure that Arsenal finished third in the Premier League.

International career[link]

Koscielny was called up to the French national team on 3 February 2011. Before his call up for France, Koscielny was also eligible to play for Poland and initially considered applying for Polish citizenship.^[5] In August 2010, it was reported that he had not submitted an application and cancelled a meeting with Poland national team coach Franciszek Smuda in Warsaw on August 7. Koscielny later declared that his priority was to play for France.^[13]

Koscielny was called up to the French team for the first time on on 3 February 2011, for the team's friendly versus Brazil on 9 February.^[14][15] He was called up to the team once more on 25 August. Koscielny earned his first appearance for the team in a friendly match against the United States on November 11. He played the entire match in a 1–0 win.

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 5 May 2012^[16]

International[link]

As of 31 May 2012.