Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has admitted he is set to leave the club when his contract expires in 2020, but why announce that now? The Frenchman joined the Gunners back in 2010 and has made over 320 appearances for the club, becoming one of the most consistent performers under former boss Arsene Wenger, but his ongoing injury problems have now become a real problem.
At the age of 32 he is now one of the most experienced members of the squad and will be key into helping the new arrivals settle into life at the Emirates. But with new boss Unai Emery looking to the future, he has brought in Sokratis from Borussia Dortmund, while also handing both Calum Chambers and Rob Holding new deals with the Englishmen finally set to get a real chance at playing on a regular basis.We are all hoping that Mustafi also improves under Emery and it looks like Mavropanos has every intention of trying to break into the starting line-up as well.
That means Koscielny could find game time hard to come by when he returns from his injury later in the season, and he has already started to plan life after the Emirates. ‘I’m under contract until June 2020. Afterwards? I’m thinking of moving on but I do not know where,’ Koscielny told French publication Nice-Martin.
‘This is not relevant anyway, I am in England, my family too.’
I am a big fan of the Frenchman and firmly believe he is one of the most underrated defenders in the premier League, so it is sad to hear that he could be out for the first half of the season with a serious injury.
But I do not agree with him announcing now that he is considering life after the Emirates as his full concentration should be to get fit and then return to help the club claim a Champions League spot. He is an experienced guy and not a 20-year old kid who is looking to earn a nice big contract, so he should be know not to even mention that he is thinking about his next move.
There is a time and place to talk about your future, and right now is not that time Laurent, but perhaps he has now realised that he could have played his last game for the Gunners. Maybe he’ll follow Mertesacker into the youth coaching set-up?
Iomie