Arsenal cult hero completes emotional return to first club at 35 and confirms it will be his last

FORMER Arsenal star Francis Coquelin has secured an emotional return to boyhood side Laval and revealed it will be the final club of his career. The midfielder, 35, was born in the French town and started playing with his local team AS Bourny Laval aged 9. Ex-Arsenal star Francis Coquelin has returned to boyhood club Laval Credit: PA:Press Association He then joined State Lavallois – also known as Laval – five years later before clinching a mega move to Arsenal in 2008 aged 17. Coquelin has gone on to enjoy a superb career in England and Spain after later turning out for Valencia and Villarreal. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! But he’s now clinched a fairytale return “full circle” to his old club Laval 18 years after departing. And he confirmed it would be the last club he plays for. However, the veteran star insisted he was not heading back to the Ligue 2 side “to relax” and vowed to give it his all. He said: “Just because it’s my last club doesn’t mean I’m coming here to relax. “I had some very, very good years here. To come back, to come full circle at Stade Lavallois, really, it was something that resonated with me. “To be able to play in front of my family, my friends, in front of the Laval fans, people who have always supported me, to be able to represent them, it’s something that really touches me.” Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS It will be the former Villarreal star’s last ever club after signing aged 35 Credit: Getty Coquelin played 160 times for the Gunners, failing to score a goal, but he did win two FA Cups in 2015 and 2017. He then signed for Valencia in a £12million deal and helped the team win the Copa del Rey in 2019, making a total of 89 appearances. In 2020 he joined Unai Emery‘s Villarreal and played 107 for the club. He was part of the team that beat Man United on penalties in the 2021 Europa League final. Coquelin spent the last two seasons back in France with Nantes but couldn’t stop the club from being relegated to Ligue 2 last season. In an interview, he admitted he and the team suffered a “failure” but will now have to play against them with Laval in the division. He added: “On a personal level, it was very frustrating. I had quite a few physical setbacks that prevented me from playing consistently. “So I feel like I wasn’t able to help the team and the club in their fight to stay up. “It’s a failure to see Nantes relegated to Ligue 2, because this club deserves to be in Ligue 1, given its history. “So I obviously wish them all the best for this season, except for two matches, the ones against Laval, because we’re going to try to get some points against them.” Comment now