Despite Laurent Koscielny turning 30, the defender insists he’s in the best shape of his life and ready to play more games than ever.

It seems like only yesterday we bought Kos as an unknown French defender but it didn’t take long before every knew who he was.

Kos is now undisputedly one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League and his partnership with Per Mertesacker last season turned Arsenal’s defence from a joke into one of the few solid parts of our team.

Now, the defender is turning 30, but insists that age is just a number and he’s more ready than every to be a big part of the team this season.

“Footballer or not, after 30 is a big part of your life,” he said. “For a footballer it is important as you are closer to the end of your career than you are to the start. But, I feel like a young man.

“I’m nearly 30 but my body is ready to play more games, just the age has changed. I try to work hard and to be ready for training and the games and when you are older you need to work harder in training before the session and after.”

Kos also used Petr Cech and Mikel Arteta as examples of how you can age but still remain top of your game and even prolong your career with the right training techniques.

“I can see the older players like Petr Cech or Mikel Arteta before and after training and it can help [extend] your career [to work hard like them].”

With Kos, it seems as if he doesn’t get older, he just gets better.

“I think it is true because you have played a lot of games before and you are more experienced,” he said. “When you play in the Premier League against a lot of big teams and in the Champions League every game can help you to be better.”