Arsenal’s defensive quality and assurance weakens significantly without Laurent Koscielny’s presence at the heart of it so it’s great to hear that he has travelled with the team to Stoke.

It’s probably no surprise to anyone that the Frenchman has completed more interceptions than any other player in the Premier League this season.

When he didn’t feature against Liverpool on the opening day this term, the Gunners conceded four. Away at Selhurst Park, three more. Not a coincidence and these statistics justify exactly that.

According to data from EA Sports, Koscielny has racked up 87 interceptions in the Premier League – having made 27 appearances to date. Hull centre-back Curtis Davies hasn’t played since the start of April but only has one fewer on 86, whilst Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has 81 to his name in third place.

West Ham’s Winston Reid (80), Player of the Year N’Golo Kante (79) and Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye (78) all feature highly. Interestingly, Koscielny’s team-mate Nacho Monreal is level with the aforementioned Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyaté on 78 in total this season too, which is commendable considering how inconsistent he’s been.

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Koscielny’s interception statistics do not only impress this season, either.

Over the past four years, he has notched a whopping 406. In comparison, the next best is Everton defender Ashley Williams with 339.

kosc inter
Koscielny’s impressive interception statistics don’t only cover this season – he’s been consistently breaking up play and sniffing out chances for a number of years now. (Picture source: The Sun)
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