Ahead of the Arsenal win against Sunderland on Tuesday, Laurent Koscielny had spoken about a range of things including the importance of Champions League football and Arsene Wenger’s future.
Koscielny was himself forced to sit out the Sunderland victory due to a minor calf injury.
However, he should be fit for Everton on Sunday as well as the FA Cup final against Chelsea but the French international has revealed treatment to an Achilles injury is required every day – this will be ongoing until his playing career is over.
Koscielny told Sky Sports: ‘I have some problems. Now it is better. I know it is a difficult injury because you need to work every day on this. Every morning I have my treatment for my Achilles and I know I need to do this to the end of my career. Now, every day I do this and it is okay but sometimes with all the games we play every three days, it is difficult and I need to have a rest to recover well for my Achilles.’
If he doesn’t carry out his exercise programme regularly he knows the ‘problem will come back.’
On sitting out Sunderland he said: ‘I am prepared to miss Sunderland to be fit for the last two games of this season. Sometimes it is better to miss one game to be fit for the others.’
Victory against the bottom-side ensures Arsenal will take the battle for a top-four finish to the final day of the season – the Gunners then have the FA Cup final against Chelsea to following a week Saturday.
When asked if he would take qualification into the Champions League next season over winning the FA Cup, Koscielny said he would forgo silverware in order to stay in the top competition in European football.
‘Playing in the Champions League. It is important for Arsenal, a club who played for 20 years in this competition to be qualified for another year. It is very important for Arsenal to be with the best teams in Europe.’
