Laurent Koscielny

In the first of a mini-series analysing Arsenal's top three players of the season, our statistician reflects on Laurent Koscielny's 2013/14 performances.

For the third year running Laurent Koscielny grabbed a vital goal on the final day of the season.

In May 2012 he scored the winner against West Bromwich Albion to secure a Champions League berth, and a year later he turned home the only goal of the game against Newcastle to seal another top-four place.

Most recently the centre back was in the right place at the right time to score the 72nd-minute equaliser against Hull City in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

But once again it was mainly for his performances at the other end of the pitch that Koscielny was voted into third place in the Player of the Season poll.

In his fourth season at the club, Koscielny played 46 matches, featuring in all four competitions, and scoring three times. He played in 32 Premier League games, nine in the Champions League, four FA Cup matches and once in the Capital One Cup.

His overall record was W31, D5, L10 for a very impressive win rate of 67.4 per cent.

The Frenchman was on the pitch for a total of 3,974 minutes (just over 66 hours) which accounted for 77.5 per cent of the entire season.

He had three different central-defensive partners during the campaign - Bacary Sagna, Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen. By far the most common pairing was Koscielny and Mertesacker, who started 41 games together.

This duo had a superb record when both played the full 90 minutes: for more than two years Arsenal did not lose a single Premier League game which both Mertesacker and Koscielny completed. That run spanned 31 matches, from January 2012, finishing with the defeat at Anfield in February 2014.

Koscielny's cup final strike was his first ever FA Cup goal, and his 13th overall for the club.

What is particularly striking about the majority of his goals is their importance. Of those 13 career goals, nine (69 per cent) have been either equalisers, winners, or first goals. That's a higher proportion of 'game-changing' strikes than any other player at the club with 10 or more goals. Arsenal have also won the last six games in which he found the net.

Koscielny's defensive stats were impressive once again too. He topped the charts for most interceptions in the squad throughout the season with 89 - 23 more than second-placed Mikel Arteta.

Koscielny's disciplinary record was also excellent. After being sent off on the opening day against Aston Villa, he received just one yellow card all season, in all competitions.

The 28-year-old finished the season on 165 career Gunners appearances, 120 of which have been in the league.

Koscielny made his 100th Premier League appearance when he played against Cardiff City in November - becoming the 41st Arsenal player to reach the milestone.

Nobody has played more Premier League games for Arsenal since he joined from Lorient in 2010 and nobody has more victories (70).

With thanks to Opta. All stats correct as at June 2, 2014