From Zero to Hero – The Legend of Kos

Preface

27th February 11 as
he lay bereft on the turf

Not much of a hero
more of a smurf

He kicked the ball
into Szczesny and not into row Z

A tap in for Martins
what went through his head?

Another year without
a trophy, 6 years then gone

So did the fans turn
against the hapless Laurent?

No we would never
give this lad stick

As 10 days earlier he
gave Messi not a kick

We had been used to
Keown, Sol and Tony

Suffered with Gallas and
some ex United pony

We needed a Toure,
intuitive, swift and brave

We had found that man,
some now know as Dave

Before the Arsenal

He started at
Guincamp in 2004

Lower French leagues
and a right back what’s more

Up to Ligue 2 with
Tours in 2007

Now playing in the
centre in the starting 11

One more year his
talent shining

Lorient made him the
first summer signing

So significant his
impact after only a season

Grimandi called
Wenger with very good reason

Lorient were not
happy and put up a fight

So we gave them cash
and Le Coq, saw them right

2010/11

The fans were bemused
another French unknown

But it has worked
before we had no right to moan

Sent off on his debut
in front of the Kop

Two challenges in
injury time over the top

We could see the
potential even alongside the Squid

He was looking a
bargain at 8 million quid

The whole of January
without conceding a league goal

Djourou and Kos were
the heart and the soul

Starting February
challenging on 4 fronts

Finishing March
looking like…….

Fourth place again
becoming the norm

But no question in
Kos a new Gooner was born

2011/12

In his second season
Vermaelen now fit

The BFG arrives so
where does he fit

Still in the team
when fitness allowed

With the Belgian or
German 3 not a crowd

A season best
forgotten by the Arsenal defence

The worst I have seen
I won’t sit on the fence

Every fullback
injured from August to Jan

Kos played all over
like only he can

One of 5 players to
play at right back

We stayed in the game
thanks to ‘you know who’ in attack

The only performer at
the back until spring

Till 5-2 we beat the
Spuds let the season begin

He scored v Milan the
so nearly night

And scored at the
Hawthorns of what delight

Third pace secured
the fans on a bender

They also voted him
our season’s best defender

A new 5 year deal a
pay rise he taken his chance

And further reward
the Euros with France

2012/13

Mertesacker fit and
Vermaelen promoted

An injured Koscielny
sadly demoted

In the early season
the pairing looked strong

But this is the
Arsenal so it would not ast long

The mistake was clear
Vermaelen could not lead

With him in the side
we looked more likely to concede

Playing to high up
the pitch okay if BFG was faster

But he’s slower than
an oil tanker a recipe for disaster

Out of both cups,
what’s occurring we say?

Wenger under
pressure, Bayern away

A massive decision
he’s dropping his fave

About bloody time
he’s calling for Dave

A clean sheet in
Munich and all because

The defence is so
solid with BFG and Kos

We never looked back
from February on

None lost, 2 drawn
and 8 that we won

The big German looked
solid with Kozza beside

The Frenchman
restoring solidity and pride

So the second year
running how fitting it was

The goal taking if to
Europe was scored by the Kos

And finally…

His timing, his
bravery, game reading interceptions

Have no doubt altered
many perceptions

We knew he was good
he has always impressed

But the last few
months place him among the world’s best

The first chapter’s
over in the story that was

Only the beginning of
THE LEGEND OF KOS

Dave Seager

Follow @goonerdave66

Dave Seager

Passionate 50+ ST holder who has been making the journey to N5 regularly since the early 1980s – although his first game was in 1976. Always passionate when talking about The Arsenal, Dave decided to send a guest blog to Gunnersphere in the summer of 2011 and has not stopped writing about the Gunners since. He set up up his own site 1 Nil Down 2 One Up which he has now sold and since the summer of 2013 with a friend he launched a new project to offer new and aspiring Arsenal writers a home. Gunners Town is that platform and Dave writes here too. He is also the author of 2 Arsenal related books.

Follow @goonerdave66

!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);