'Great to See': Arsenal Fans React to Laurent Koscielny's Return to Training Following Injury

After rupturing his Achilles tendon during Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid, Laurent Koscielny has endured a lengthy injury layoff, but the defender has now returned to training and Gunners fans are delighted to see the return of their captain.

The defender has appeared in a short clip posted on the club’s Twitter account, depicting Koscielny alongside teammate Alex Iwobi and club legend Robert Pires in Arsenal training at London Colney.

Koscielny’s Achilles has been the source of consistent injury problems for the Frenchman over the past few seasons, and his most recent setback was of such severity that the defender was forced to miss the World Cup and watch on as his country won the tournament.

The 33-year-old has also missed the start of the new Premier League season with Arsenal under Unai Emery, with the defender’s absence coinciding with a poor defensive run which has seen the Gunners concede eight goals in their opening four games, failing to keep a clean sheet so far this season.

Such is Koscielny’s importance to his side, Emery maintained the Frenchman as Arsenal’s club captain following the Spaniard’s appointment as head coach during the summer, despite the defender having been initially ruled out until December through injury.

Speaking last month, via Football.London, Emery provided a fitness update on his captain, telling reporters: “He’s working very hard. First he was in France. He came back to us last Sunday.

“We are happy to have him here with us, because he’s our captain and he’s showing us his spirit to stay with us. We need to be patient with him because the injury was an important injury.

“It’s clear that it’s very important to stay with us, working here and showing us that he wants to help us. It’s difficult to know [when he will be back]. You look at this morning, he’s running, he’s working on the pitch. The progress is very good progress.”

The positive sentiment in Emery’s assessment of Koscielny’s condition has been reflected in the most recent video update on the defender’s rehabilitation, and Arsenal fans have expressed their delight at seeing the Gunners captain return to the training pitch.

Here is a selection of how Arsenal fans reacted to seeing Koscielny back in action: