Thursday, 26th July, 2012
Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has revealed that he does not know whether there was genuine interest from Barcelona in signing him this summer, but insisted his focus has never been on anything other than penning a new contract at the Gunners.
Barcelona are on the lookout for a new centre back and sources in Spain had hinted at a Blaugrana swoop for Koscielny, a player who was impressive for Arsene Wenger’s men last season.
But the 26-year-old has closed the door on that by penning a new contract running until 2017 at the Emirates Stadium.
"My idea was to extend to continue to stay at Arsenal", Koscielny told French radio station RMC.
And on Barcelona’s interest, the former Lorient man was clear that he was not personally approached by the Spanish giants.
"Personally, Barca did not contact me. Maybe they did speak to my agents. But I did not talk to them, they knew my position.
"I wanted to stay here to continue to develop with this club."
Signing Koscielny to a new deal is a big boost for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who faces losing Dutch hitman Robin van Persie this summer after contract talks with the striker broke down.
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