Fekir is a bit like Lionel Messi, claims Koscielny

Omnisports

October 4, 2016 5:35 AM

Laurent Koscielny has compared fellow French international Nabil Fekir to Lionel Messi ahead of his side's World Cup qualifiers.

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Laurent Koscielny has compared fellow French international Nabil Fekir to Barcelona star Lionel Messi ahead of his side's World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Netherlands.

After a breakthrough 2014-15 campaign with Lyon, scoring 13 goals in Ligue 1, Fekir missed a large part of last season due to a knee injury, which also saw him miss Euro 2016.

The 23-year-old has impressed in the opening stages of the 2016-17 season, though, and Koscielny has nothing but praise for the winger.

"Nabil has got huge technical skills," the Arsenal man said at a news conference.

"He's a bit like Messi with his small steps when he runs with the ball in one-on-one.

"He was slowed down a bit with his terrible injury, but he's slowly coming back to his best level. He's able to make a difference on the pitch, with a good one-on-one or with an assist or a goal.

"He's a young player who needs to be happy in his club and his national team. He's a very nice guy, so we hope he'll improve to become a great player."

Omnisports