Arsenal boss Unai Emery says he’s trying to convince the club captain to say in North London but admits the French international wants to leave.
For whatever reason, the 33-year-old believes he’s entitled to leave for free or a knock down price, while the club don’t believe that to be the case.
We’re not saying it’s Ivan Gazidis’ fault but this pretty much sounds like the kind of shit he’d be involved in – the massive bald twatbasket.
Nevertheless, the Spaniard said, “At the moment his decision is to leave and we are also thinking if we can improve with other players and how we can help with him.
“He’s a very important player for us. We are speaking with him and with the team, about my responsibilities, the club’s responsibility and his responsibility.
“With respect it’s better for us, it’s better for the team, and it’s changing our idea with the centre back, because if he is here with us this season, it’s very different than if he isn’t with us.
“At the moment it’s a very personal decision, and we are respecting that. I am speaking with him and we are going to find the best solution, but overall we need a player like him. We want to be strong in our defensive line, working with the players we have now.
“We are speaking about the centre backs, but we have a lot of centre backs, we have good centre backs, and if we can sign one more centre back, it is because he is clearly better than we have.
“Because at the moment we have six. We are in different positions with some players because Mavropanos has his injury and we are continuing to see that situation.
“We have until August 8, and we need to speak over these few days about how we can be, and how we can close our squad.”
Arsenal continue to look for a suitor for Shkodran Mustafi and if Koscielny leaves it could leave the club short of defenders until Rob Holding returns, but that’s a small price to pay for a Mustafi free existence.
Let him leave. It would be absolutely farcical if we kept him.
If there is a club that wants to pay some money to us otherwise let him play with the youth team or freeze him out completely the way PSG did to Rabiot.
Completely agree with eternal. There actually is value in letting him train in his own. Too many players have pissed about in recent years and this would set a good example that Arsenal are no longer a soft touch. If we sold him for a few million we would add to our coffers and save on wages but in the long run we could save a lot more money and frustration. He signed a contract with us and this is when we need him most right now. If he wants to spit his dummy out then despite his service, he… Read more »
Mean as it may be I agree a bit. Players who sign contracts should honour contracts, not just stop showing up when they want to leave. Club has to take a strong stand or all contacts become worthless. If Kos is in breach of contract he should be penalised.
I know you meant mustafi
I would keep and forgive Kos in a heartbeat! I hope he stays one more year but he embarrassed the powers that be so he probably has to go.
Let’s not forget he served the club with dedication and commitment ,.he is not getting any younger too,..so if there is a club made him a better offer than we do then he should accept and the club should accept and use the money to buy replacement. .
No hard feelings. .
Trouble is the club that want him also want him for nothing so although he gets what he wants we get sod all!
I hate this non sense, He “served” the club, no he was paid millions by the club to do his jobs, plucked from obscurity and made into a star,
Totally, that’s why we all hold Mustafi and Mhkitaryan in the same reverence as Koscielny and Pires. Oh wait, hang on, no no, we fucking don’t. We’re not all that stupid! Two guys get payed a fortune and we can all agree we’d rather see them gone, the other two got payed a fortune and gave a lot to the club, played key roles in shaping it’s history until they decided their time had come and forced moves away. Maybe if the story of how Pires demanded his transfer after the CL final came out today, some of you chimps… Read more »
“played key roles in shaping it’s history”
You have got to be joking me? we were a massive club before him, He has not shaped out history at all. he was a part of it, he did not in any shape it, Henry helped shape it, Wenger shaped it, Tony Adams shaped it, Koscielny did nothing of the sort
If you don’t think Koscielny and Pires are key players in the history of this football club, never mind to what degree, then you haven’t got a fucking scooby.
Goonero he clearly does not give enough of a shit to see out a contract he is paid handsomely for. Your mentality is exactly the reason players keep pissing about at Arsenal. He should rot in the reserves because an example needs to be made. Because of his behaviour we owe him nothing, it is purely down to greed on his part.
You might not rate mustafi as a player, but he never gives anything less than 100% commitment.
I agree entirely, One of the lowest moments I can remember as an arsenal fan was people in the ground booing him at the weekend, Pathetic, Boo the “captain” you refused to even go on a training trip.
He was a great servant and a very good player and we were too reliant on him. Remember the inevitable collapse against Bayern after his injury. Somehow he is feed up now. Thank you Kos and good bye, good luck!
He must go now, and we need 2 new center backs. If Sokratis is suspended or injured we are fked. The rest of the center backs we have are either shit, old, or lack experience to push us into the top .
I really think Holding is a good centre half and Chambers has shown he can do a good job however we certainly need to sign an experienced performer. Remember next season we will have Saliba
I completely rate holding hopefully future captian. I also like chambers but he is better in midfield where competition is strong. I always remember him on the first day of the season getting ripped apart by maine agianst Liverpool and sadly it happen in the Lyon game too. Good on the ball and tidy but doesn’t have the defensive nouse for center back. There is a reason Fulham didn’t play him in defence!
I mostly agree but…..
Two would be nice but seems unlikely and
I’d settle for one and an early Holding
return.
None of our players are shit.
Assuming Koscielny and Mustafi leave, We’ll have Sokratis, Holding and Chambers. So only one quality addition is needed in my opinion. I feel like we might have missed out on Hermoso (to Athletico). He was affordable.
They won’t let Mustafi leave until they buy a new CB. If we fans stop harassing Mustafi and actually cheer him, his confidence might get back. Whoever we bring in will not be able to close all the space other players (even defenders) let wide open. The gain replacing Mustafi will only be direct goals against he causes less the reasonable one or two goals caused in a season by a good defender. Mustafi scores three to four golas by headers a season. If the incoming good defender scores only one or two then we will practically remain in the… Read more »
Agree that we shouldn’t harass him, but I think too much confidence is his issue…
I dont think fans should ever really harass one of our own… but to suggest his performances are a result of the fans doesnt make sense. We got on his back because he cant play football very well, not the other way round.
Yeah but he hasn’t only been shit for us has he? There’s been times when he’s actually been really good. It’s just form. And it’s a lot easier to find form when you don’t have the crowd on your back.
Monreal can do a job also. Sort of.
“He was affordable”…affordable and beautiful!
I am as tired of Mustafi as the next guy and would be happy to see him moved on, but I suspect if he leaves it’s going to become clear very fast that although he certainly isn’t the solution, he isn’t the problem either.
Never in his history as a coach has Emery had a defensively solid team. I doubt he’s going to start now, especially given the shambles he was left with; it’s not as if he inherited anything usable here either.
What shambles was he left with?
True, if it wasn’t for injuries he got Holding, Kos, Bellerin and Monreal in addition to a luxurious attack. Pepe need to remember that Mikhi was supposed to be like Pepe and Ozil like De Bruyne but is it really Wenger’s fault if these two hugely underperform
People need to remember that Mikhi was supposed to be like Pepe and Ozil like De Bruyne. Is it really Wenger’s fault that these two hugely underperformed in 2018-2019?
Actually they have ‘underperformed’ practically their entire time with the club
So Ozil has underperformed the entire time he has been with us? What a short memory you have. He was one of the most creative players in the country for the first 5 years and was the fastest player to reach 50 assists. He helped us win 3 FA Cups too. Yes he is now inconsistent but to say he has always underperformed is blatantly untrue
If Özil has underperformed, check first the tactics he is compelled to work with under UE.
The defense was terrible when Wenger left. It isn’t any better now. But it’s not like Emery inherited a solid defense to work with.
Emery is probably on the same level as Wenger but without style. Not that Wenger had much of a style in his latter days, to be fair.
A good manager, but not top tier in my opinion. I pray he proves me wrong this season.
Obviously prime Weng > Emery.
So Emery was to blame for our defensive shambles under Wenger too…
As the witch in the life of Brain said:
“It’s a fair cop!”
Think that was The Holy Grail
Dear Santori,
I guess you are now happy that we have finally seen a replacement for your much desired mahrez in Pepe… I hope you can feel at peace now and end your constant rantings.
Yours sincerely
Signed
I think Koscielny is entitled to want to leave, and if he does, he’d certainly have my blessing but he can’t expect to walk out the door for nothing. That’s a ridiculous expectation in my mind. Obviously, none of us really know what was said between the parties but it’s clear that they hold a difference of opinion and it’s clear Kos is bound by a contract with us. My hope is that they do find a club that is will to pay a transfer fee. That way the player can depart happily and the club can happily invest in… Read more »
Best and most concise summary of situation so far- should not have been allowed to be played out so publicly.
At one point last season Kos was my player of the year for us…it was a tremendous effort to come back from that injury and give what he gave to the team…I don’t want to forget that, nor do I want to forget the great service he’s given us his entire arsenal career. Obviously some major breakdown has occurred between him and the club for him to have acted the way he did…it’s totally out of character and although the wrong move by him I am still appreciative of his commitment to the club over the years and hope he… Read more »
A Mustafi free existence!
*leans back in chair, exhales, closes eyes and slowly smiles*
The sooner this is resolved, the better. Obviously.
Clearly we can’t start the season with him on our books and I don’t think he should be allowed to go for nothing. If it helps, he should take whatever pay cut is necessary in order to move.
We still don’t have the full picture so I’m going to reserve judgement until we do. I don’t think we should let him leave on a free although the reported price tag of 10 million is prohibitive and I can understand why that would wind Koscielny up. The best solution to this would be a club that’s willing to pay a couple of million and we let him go. I hope it gets resolved and wish him the best if he goes.
Just spotted this… from AgentScottland on twitter:
The Kieran Tierney situation finally looks like it has a resolution, Arsenal prepared to pay £25m, £20m up front, £5m in gauranteed instalments and another £1m anytime Arsenal qualifiy for the Champions League in the duration of his original contract (next 5yrs) + 15% sell on.
Wow celtic really did well there if that’s true!
Maybe we should poach their chief negotiator ha!
I saw that we had renewed our interest in Tierney. That said, the balance between the down payment and instalments quoted looks daft. Yes, Celtic were demanding more money up front, but a £20 million down + £5 million instalment split isn’t very logical. The point of instalments (as with buying a car, or whatever) is the bulk of the payment is deferred. Anyway, we’ll see.
as the payee yeah, but as the receiving party there are numerous advantages to receiving guaranteed income for the next x years.
I am amazed at the regularity with people still have complain about Wenger and blame him for every god damned fault with our current team! Give the man a break, guys! Please, I request you all.
*still complain about Wenger
Well, people do that Nikhil because he was in charge when several of the problems we’re still dealing with now were created. I won’t rehearse them all, but think of the signing of Mustafi. He cost £35 million, wasted money, and we can’t offload him because he’s so overpaid at The Emirates he won’t leave for a pay cut. Then there’s the far too hasty decision to pay Ozil a wage-structure busting £350,000 a week because we had allowed his contract to run down and couldn’t afford a repeat of the Sanchez contract fiasco where we ended up exchanging him… Read more »
You’re right about Özil’s contract situation and the whole Mikhi/Alexis fiasco. Regarding Mustafi, yes – he has been a bad investment – but Mustafi alone doesn’t explain our defensive issues. Wenger’s last transfer window was Jan 2018. How is he responsible for our current defensive shambles? Wenger also got our top scorer of the last season during his last transfer window. Not too many people continually talk up Wenger for that amazing piece of business. All I’m requesting is, just let Wenger be. He had his fair share of problems, but he was a bloody genius and one of the… Read more »
“With respect it’s better for us, it’s better for the team, and it’s changing our idea with the centre back, because if he is here with us this season, it’s very different than if he isn’t with us. Imagine. Mark my word, the guy knows that the coach doesn’t need him. Read through the lines, much blame is not with the guy. He hasn’t been such a person. My take is, the coach is subtly pushing away wenge’s recruits except the obvious one (remember Ramsey). Gradually, both talented young ones and old seem paving their ways. Anyways, not that it… Read more »
Well, I would never have guessed that, Unai! Seriously, we’re past the point of no return now, aren’t we? We need to conclude this mess asap. It’s causing increasing problems within the club and making us look amateurish outside (shades of the Mislintat/Monchi fiasco last season, unfortunately).
We’ve not had any defender at the Campbell level since well Campbell but we have signed some guys who had played very well elsewhere only to come to our side and appear to be worse than useless. They didn’t turn into bad players overnight. Arsenals best years coincided with having world class midfielders who were athletic gifted footballers who could pick a pass and put in a tackle. We’ve not had that since Viera Edu Silva Petit . Sure fabregas rosicky carzola were all excellent but offered less duality as the previous four. After that it was arteta and he… Read more »
Time to let him go and move on. This squad has needed major surgery for a few years now so it’s just another part of moving forward. We really need to take the hit, say good by and find an upgrade.
If you want to win you mustn’t lose! Is it Emery?
“We’re not saying it’s Ivan Gazidis’ fault but this pretty much sounds like the kind of shit he’d be involved in – the massive bald twatbasket.”
Not having that, this has Wenger and the Colney creche written all over it
I’m far from Wenger’s greatest fan in his latter years at the club, but I’m not sure why the current situation with Koscielny now is really down to him?
The sense of entitlement, the favouritism shown to certain players and the placing of the players needs over that of the clubs are all a legacy of Wenger’s reign. I have sympathy with Koscielny if he doesn’t believe he can cope with the physical demands of the premier league for another season or even if he wishes to return home, but his behaviour can’t just be accepted. If he wanted to leave all he had to do was hand in a transfer request, make a public statement stating the above and how he loved Arsenal, and the fan’s would have… Read more »
He wont have to play cup games or europa, just league games and prepare for that alone. him, Sokratis, holding and a great new CB would be perfect.
That’s probably what they told him last season, he ended up playing three games in a week, in agony, and hardly able to walk. Maybe he doesn’t believe them this time around.
Or maybe that’s not what they told him
You’re just bitter that your ‘Wenger Out’ tattoo is now obsolete!
You clown attacking the man not the argument, presumably because you’re too think to do so!
Yeah I’m too think to do so
Or thick
Swap for Gelin or Bensebaini should be decent job.
”if we can sign one more centre back, it is because he is clearly better than we have” – won’t be too difficult to find one, then.
Its simple really, any player who doesn’t want to play for us,, there’s the door fuck off and shut it on ya way out
Some dumb shit put a thumbs down to this??? REALLY