Arsenal have confirmed that club captain Laurent Koscielny has refused to travel to the US for our pre-season tour.
It’s a decision by the 33-year-old that pretty much makes his position at the club untenable.
Koscielny is under contract at the Emirates for one more year and it’s been rumoured for quite a few weeks that he is looking to draw a line under nine years as a Gunner.
A very firm statement from the club reads: “Laurent Koscielny has refused to travel to the US for our pre-season tour.
“We are very disappointed by Laurent’s actions, which are against our clear instructions.
“We hope to resolve this matter and will not be providing any further comment at this time.”
You can’t help but feel, the fallout from this is going to be very messy – was this statement strictly necessary?
Obviously, we can sell Koscielny, but that has a knock on effect for our other summer business, which includes trying to sell the likes of Shkodran Mustafi.
It’s a surprising and disappointing decision by Koscielny, but we’ll wait to hear his side of the story before making any further judgement.
Everything’s coming up Mustafi!
I am sorry to say but I don’t support Kos on this one. This is nonsense. Even if he wants a transfer it is not like going to play a few friendlies is going to hurt those chances of a transfer.
It is stupid is what it is.
We don’t know his story. So calling him stupid is naive. Our club having a great track record of handling player situations can certainly have more role in this. Lets see.
No one is calling him stupid. His reaction is stupid, especially to play for a lesser club.
What track record and what situations? You make it sound as if players refuse to go on tour every summer.
was only thinking that, its unprofessional at least, unprofessional leaning on arrogant
Presumably he didn’t refuse to accept his salary while recovering from injury, because that didn’t suit.
Well he’s showing some spine unlike all those years on the pitch.. atleast he didn’t wish we lose, not surprised he’s taking RVP route.
Previous statetements about national team that he wanted them to fail because he l was injured. Also blaming Deschamps for not phoning him regularly whereas he was invited to the final and Deschamps having given him tribute after announcing the list make him clearly stupid.
If Benzema, Nasri, Anelka or even Pogba had made such statements, there would have been breaking news on TV in France with journalists, politicians and philosophers telling how bad them and people who look like them are. I appreciate Arsenal not covering up for him.
Lolo was put in question on that in France…
Nope, he was softly criticized by a couple of sport journalists and it went cold. For the others, even the president at the time wrote a book and said they needed muscles in the brain, the prime minister saying Benzema shouldn’t go back to the team despite FIFA’s rules against political interference.
I like that the club doesn’t try to cover up player indescretions anymore. The kids gloves Wenger era is over. No more protection from the media or us the fans. He’s supposed to be the captain ffs. There are far better ways to force a move from a club that flat out breaching your contract and not taking a free holiday to the US, to kick a football about, whilst being paid an obscene amount of money.
Frankly sit him in the reserves, make an example.
Quick!! Someone send Steve Parish a fax adding Kos to the list of players we’re offering for Zaha…..
Of course we shouldn’t take sides per se because who knows what is driving this decision by Kos. However, he was going to leave when Wenger left and it was only his injury that prevented it. A year later and we had to run him into the ground because of a shortage of defenders. That obviously took a physical toll on him and perhaps a mental one too.
Unlike some on here I will wait to see what unfolds. It’s pretty lazy thinking to just blame the club for this or solely blame Kos, without actually knowing what’s gone on.
The guy missed out on playing in a world cup final largely because of our management of his injury. If be pissed to.
He was being paid by Arsenal. All footballers risk injury
Theres a difference between getting injured playing, and being run into the ground. Look no further than Kevin Durant in the recent NBA finals.
To be honest, I dont blame Koscielny here. That guy has been a great servant to Arsenal Football Club. He has put his body on the line for us, he has played injured on countless occasions nearly to the detriment of his entire playing career. To have allowed his contractual situation to stagnate like it has done is beyond a joke, as a fan, I actually find it extremely disrespectful the club have allowed this to happen — again. He’s 33, his next contract is going to be his last. We clearly were never going to give him the contract… Read more »
Your comment makes absolutely no sense.
Koscielny signed a new contract, with a pay rise, at the age of 31. And it was a 3-year deal at a time when club policy was only 1 year extensions for over 30s.
Arsenal literally made an exception for him.
He has a year left on his current deal. – So he either extends with us. – Is sold to someone else. – Or leaves on a free. My understanding is (from what I have read) Koscielny would only stay at Arsenal if we were willing to give him a further extension of three years. Kos wants the 3 years because at 33 with his injury record it is far too risky to run his contract down to leave on a free at the end of this coming season. As he very well could pick up another injury which would… Read more »
What club has offered a player 3 years when they are 33? lol what are you talking about? you expect us to employ him until hes 36 with injuries? Only Ronaldo has commanded such a deal as of late.
Wait scrap a large portion of the above.
I genuinely didn’t realise he is demanding to be allowed to leave on a free now…?
That is fairly ridiculous.
But either way — we should have sold him right at the start of the summer.
“We are not willing to meet his terms by granting him a further 3 year extension to his current deal” quite right I would say. i am sorry but after a certain age it’s year on year extensions.
Which is why we should have sold him…
Koscielny should honour his contract with Arsenal, no matter the circumstances, as that is what being a professional is even in the world of sport (or especially in the world of sport). That said, I think you are on to something with your reading of this — Koscielny wanted something done last year already when Wenger left, and you have to wonder if management have failed to respect the final wishes of a very good servant to the club over the years. He is clearly a Wenger-man and though he has bled red on the battlefield over and over and… Read more »
Agreed Futsboller – Koscielny was already talking about leaving with Wenger and might’ve done last summer if wasn’t injured against Atletico in the semi-final.
But we’ve rehabbed him, he has a year left on his deal, and Arsenal have no obligation to give contracted players away for free.
Imagine if Koscielny had been on a one-year rolling contract when he got injured. Who would have rehabilitated him from injury? Literally no-one would’ve paid for a 32-yr old with tendons made of plasticine.
Koscielny can leave if he wants, but not like this.
Well said. How bad are things getting for us when this kind of thing happens, especially in a public way?
So Mustafi and Ozil and other players we are frustrated with should honour their contracts too? “No matter what”? You can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want some players to leave before their time is up because they’re crap, some good players will leave too. And if he thinks he won’t get a contract until he’s 36 of if he just wants to play in the country of his birth until he hangs up his boots, fine. And IF that’s the case, why spend time on tour knowing he won’t be there? Allow the manager to… Read more »
That’s some very backwards logic you’re using there Maul Person. Your own example contradicts your argument. The club ARE honouring the contracts of Mustafi and Ozil even though they’d rather not and they will continue to do so until we can agree a deal to sell them to another club, at which point the players will get a big fat loyalty payment. Nobody will force them to sign for somebody else, they could very easily sit out their contracts and the club will honour them. The only way your argument makes sense is if the club were suddenly deciding to… Read more »
Rookie mistake there, Merse10. My point had nothing to do with what the club does. It was about the opinion of Futsboller as a FAN who wants Kos to be kept regardless. Should the same not apply for the FANS who say ineffectual players like Ozil or generally crap ones like Mustafi should leave before their contracts are up?
He will not be the first captain to do this with the club. From Cesc to V.Persie, they all did something similar. How about the club takes a step back to review what they may not be doing right? It cannot always be about the players behaving badly. Why bring this to the press to create a big mess out of the whole situation?
Lucky for you I’m speechless!
Together? People want to leave, nobody wants to come. COYG! 10 th here we come!
Kos showing some fight.. hahaa never thought he had a spine..
We run from North London
Such a shit club
So go support Spurs…
Just a club captain refusing to take part in a pre-season tour, move along, nothing to see here…
… honestly, I’m very disappointed.
Wow. If I’d read the title with the players name blanked. He’d be far far down on the list I’d expect it to be.
Luckily he would be far far down the list of players i would be worried about leaving, if it was Lacazette i would have been mortified. It might also push the club into signing someone (ha)
Wow! Didn’t expect this from him at all. Either we let him sit in the stands for a season, which this stage of his career he wouldn’t want to do or we sell him for a nominal fee. Should be stripped of the captaincy straight away in any case. Good to see this from the club, to be honest. They could have kept it quiet and said he had an injury or personal commitments. Maybe its a sign of the new hierarchy at the club and trying to promote a much more stricter environment for the players, in that if… Read more »
I like your point of view. Fuck playing politics. Just be real and deal with things as they are
This is more political than ever. Straight or in the back whenever it serves us best. In this case I agree it shows strength and ruthlessness. He has no loyalty, we have no loyalty.
Do you know anything about Koscielny’s reasons?
No, it’s not good to see. It’s the exact opposite. It’s another in a long list of Arsenal screwing over some of our best servants, from Ashley Cole, to Ramsey and now Kos. In public. Disgraceful.
Er, how is Koscielny the victim here?
If the club promised him that he could leave at the end of the season, but they failed to bring in a capable replacement (Saliba?) then I think he could rightfully feel that he was mocked
Stopped reading when you mentioned Cashley as some Saint!
Same breath when you say a true legend Ramsey, please take my downvote. You’re welcome!
Never said he was a saint, just that he was screwed over. They had an agreement, then decided to try and lowball one of the best defenders on the planet.
He didn’t come out of it smelling of roses but everyone conveniently ignores that Arsenal created the situation in the first place. One suspects they did the same to Ramsey but somehow he’s a club legend and one of our invincibles is persona non grata, which I’ve always thought was unfair personally.
The statement is shockingly bad PR. Really bad. The clubs press office has basically made the situation irredeemable. If they had to comment, they should have said something far less charged. Yes, LK’s actions are extremely unprofessional. But you don’t fire off some crappy statement that sounds like a Donald trump tweet
I disagree. For once the club is being open and honest about something. I think that should be applauded. Even if we like the player a lot
Weakens the club’s hand in any potential transfer negotiations though
he can sit out one year in the reserves, cash 5 milions and see who gives him a contract next year.
If this is due to him wanting to leave then he should be given a two week fine & sold straight away.
If it’s a demonstration against our pathetic work in the transfer market & against the current owner then fair play to him.
It will be interesting to see what Kos says, even so its all very unedifying.
It is more like him trying to secure his future. He is getting reported 3 year good money contract elsewhere. As a player, he is correct, trying to maximize his value but this statement could have been avoided by the club.
Its doesnt matter if HE is being offered a contract elsewhere. If somebody wants him they have to make an offer to the club
He signed his contract. Arsenal rehabbed him. Deal
Nothing to thumb down here
That’s a shocker considering this is Koscielny…
Shocker of a statement by the club too. Someone has hurried to the website to save his job maybe?
What’s shocking about the club statement? I’m confused
Koscielny didn’t take to the media to announce anything, the club have put this in the public forum to paint a narrative: Koscielny is behaving poorly, which simply can’t be the extent of the story.
Weasel move from the club.
Have you seen the club publish anything like this about one of its own players in all the time you’ve been a fan? This isn’t how Arsenal is supposed to do things, regardless of what Koscielny is trying to pull.
we do our dirty washing in public now. keep up
Well how could we hide the fact hes gone AWOL? Its like trying to hide Sol Campbell leaving at half time.
Given some of the characters we’ve had, I’d bet a lot of stuff has gone on behind the scenes down the years (bullying, dressing room fights, strikes to force transfers). The reason these are all rumours is because nobody blurted anything out. It wouldn’t have hurt to said he was injured, which is the norm when someone’s pushing for a transfer.
This approach is one of the reasons why Arsenal have a history of players mugging us.
How long do you think it’ll take for Lolo’s team to leak to L’Equipe or France Football what the true situation is if the club had used an alibi to explain his absence from the tour? Regardless of what the context is, he’s got a contract to honour and whatever club that wants him must deal with Arsenal first.
We can’t blame the club for losing players on a cheap or for free and still complain when steps are taken to stem the tide.
Had Koscielny’s people gone to the press it would still have been no more than a newspaper story. If the player had taken things further and used a social media account he’d have forfeited bonuses and whatnot. I think it’s possible for the club to be shrewd and hard-nosed in private and still conduct itself with class in public. Otherwise we’re no different from any other club.
Wow. Very surprised. This summer is fast challenging the classic Xhaka/Mustafi/Perez summer as biggest clusterfuck ever.
Cant really describe it as a clusterfuck, as not a lot went down. But I maintain that the Cech summer was the worst. We really could have capitalised after that.
The Cech summer we had a good team so they still had excuses.
This time we don’t even have that.
Not so good a team that it was able to surpass Leicester so not having that.
But the last day trolley dash has to be the previous worst even if we lucked out somewhat with Arteta and Metersacker. But this summer is thus far really giving it some competition.
Well no team in the entire league surpassed Leicester and we were the closest so I think that is a bit harsh.
Koscielny wants no part of this shitshow. Remember when Sanhelli and Vinai said if someone had 1 year left in their contract and wouldn’t renew, they would sell him? Then sell him you fucking pieces of shit. Corporate bullshiters of the highest order.
That doesn’t apply to 33 year olds
And why not exactly? It should especially apply to players over 30 as they literally have no resale value.
So why sell if he has no resale value now? You might as well keep him to help bring through youngsters.
You have contradicted yourself, nincompoop
Wtf are you talking about? He has no resale value for the team he is going to go. So they know whatever price they are going to buy him for, they probably won’t recover it. Did you understand now or are you actually that dense?
That’s not even remotely our problem. That’s a gamble for the buying club to take.
It’s quite simple – if you’re over 30 and want to freely move clubs, don’t sign a four-year contract like Koscielny did 3 years ago.
Dortmund was talked about and Bordeaux , rich clubs , take 7 million, and raise the Celtic lad bid from 17 m to 24 m which is what reportedly Celtic want
What if I told you Kosc wants to leave FOR FREE?
If selling players was as easy as you make it out to be, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in with the likes of Ozil, Mustafi, Jenkinson etc etc. You do realise that to sell him, you need to have someone willing to buy him? Bordeaux are probably only interested in him on a free transfer. If they’re not willing to put an offer on the table which would make it worthwhile for the club to let him go, what do you want them to do?
Erm, I’d want them to fuck right off!
Don’t like this at all. Not from our captain.
I wish players we do actually want to sell had this level of impetus to leave the club.
His best mate Ollie must have been bantering him all summer lol.
ah…fffs.
Because you live in delusion. That’s not how it works. Too many people are unrealistic and frankly foggy about their assessments, let sentiment cloud their judgement. Nothing wrong with Koscielny wanting to go. We should have brought in a better player than Sokratis (and Mustafi) and let Koscielny go last summer frankly. now it appears as if we may try to short change again, add some largely unproven teenager and try to over extent a player with wear and tear issues another season in name of saving money. Remember, Koscielny and Sokratis did not prevent us from leaking 3 goals… Read more »
Wow
Surely this is too out of character for for us to take this at face value? There has to be more to it. If not then it’s a real shame it has to end this way.
You expect this of the Neymars of this world, not Kos. 9 years old loyal professionalism only to dampen the memories by potentially leaving this way.
The Ozil rumours were out of character as well, but it depends on your judgement of a player’s personality whether you give them thought and analyse the past, or you jump right into condemning them.
Look at some people believing the corporate bullshiters who have just arrived few months back over A guy who has been our best defender for a better part of 10 years. Fuck off.
We’ve had an utterly shite defense for 10 years
“we run north london” – remember this anyone from that adidas ad ? Lol
That whole nostalgia farce can get fucked. This is who the club are when it counts, stingy cunts who’d publicly dress down a loyal servant like Koscielny for wanting to leave.
For context, look at how Chelsea treated Cech like filth until Abramovich intervened and acknowledged that he’d earned the right to leave on his own terms.
Jesus Goonero, wind yer neck in mate. I guess we really have reached the point of no return when some fans support a player over the club. The Arsenal. Remember them? The club captain has gone on strike to force through what appears to be a free transfer to a fairly rich club. Let that sink in for a moment. Think what message this sends to the many young players coming through to the first team. We stood by Kos while he was still learning, costing us cup finals in the process, and through lengthy injured spells. It seems he… Read more »
Seems he was more a Wenger man? You see the kind of nonsense you’re baselessy spewing? This is the kind of reaction the club wanted to illicit, like this whole situation is entirely of his making. Open your naïve little eyes you easily manipulated fool. It’s not news that Kos wanted to leave last year, it’s not news that had he not been injured he most likely would have, it’s not news to anyone with fucking eyes that he’s played his heart out for this club. To think he’d just wantonly and without cause decide to down tools apropos of… Read more »
“For context, look at Chelsea” No, don’t look at Chelsea. They are not a model for anything except financial doping. I think some of you are a bit clueless about how football actually works. What planet are you living on where a player walks in to the see the manager and says “yeah I’m off, but I’m going to play for our rivals so little Johnny doesn’t have to move schools”. Eh? Cech was fortunate Abramovich granted him the move, same way Giroud was fortunate Wenger granted his move to Chelsea. Neither player was *entitled* to that treatment. Imagine thinking… Read more »
The addidas team care more about the club than most of the players!
They really don’t
F**k Adidas and all that marketing b*ll*cks. This is a game that is played out on the pitch by flesh and blood. All the money stuff is just a sideshow bagatelle of parasites trying to profit from the past success of players. Too many people are buying this crap. I agree with the scousers who don’t wear replica shirts.
Not a great indictment on how things are going behind the scenes at the club this summer.
Not cool at all. If he wants to move, fine, but this is disrespectful and unprofessional. It’s hardly an ordeal jumping into First Class and having a bit of a run around. Come down with a cold like a proper pro.
You forget the best – “foot” injury and back pain.
#EmeryOut he is toxic.
We don’t know enough to conclude that
Go brush your teeth
Go and clean your room
Nap time.
Go to your room a have a good wanking, stop commenting bullshit
Assuming he has a 2-3 year offer somewhere in France and wants to take that up instead of playing 1 more year in a more intense league and then not being able to carry on.
If that’s true, he is just trying to get a nice Bosman deal instead of the other club having to pay for him, therefore decreasing his salary by a few grand. Doesn’t make it any better, does it?
Was not expecting this.
Best guess – Arsenal must have promised him a move. Or at least made big noises that one would materialise. Clearly, that hasn’t happened.
Regardless, it’s hard to believe he would throw his toys out of the pram like this after a decade’s service. Still, here we are.
He didn’t come out publicly, it is the club. I don’t think we have competent people who can solve complex problems peacefully. This statement was not required from AFC. This will burn every possible bridge if there was any left among both parties.
Best comment so far ^^^^^^
Yeah, Vaibhav, well said. And though they would be asked why he isn’t on tour, they could make up anything they want …
And then when the truth came out (which it always does) the club would be slated for making excuses for him at the time & white washing the story rather than standing their ground & refusing to accept his behaviour…once he refused to go on the tour there is literally nothing the club could do to address the situation & not get abuse for doing it wrong
Not sure what the club could do differently. They are leaving today for the tour and were releasing a roster that wouldn’t have him on it. Questions and speculation would begin immediately. At least we know what’s going on from their end. I’m sure Koscielny and his agent will release their own statement shortly.
After 9 years of service and last season where he genuinely looked like he was doing himself considerable long term damage by playing at times, we’d be absolute monsterous cunts to deny this man his wishes.
Fully agree
I don.t blame him for wanting to leave.. ut come on. He has been supported by Arsenal through periods of shit form and big injuries. Just get on the plane and do your job. What a shit example
He’s done his job, and he wants to go. After 9 years and at 33 years of age, you and a pretty fucking spotless record in terms of controversy, you don’t just up and throw a guy like Koscielny under the bus. It’s pretty fucking despicable from the club.
Nah, you’re loud and wrong on this issue.
It’s fashionable to crap on your own club these days but when you start condoning players breaking their contractual obligations, you’ve crossed the line.
Ask yourself if you’d support Reiss Nelson or Laca doing the same thing because they want a free transfer?
It’s fashionable? I didn’t realize we were keeping up with the fucking Kardashians here.
I don’t know what kind of reading comprehension difficulties you’re struggling with, but I very clearly said that given his age, given his years of service, given his health, that
He should be allowed to have some say in how he ends his career without having to fight the club over it
How you think the same applies to Lacazatte or Nelson is beyond me.
You never heard a hypothetical question before?
It’s called setting a bad precedent, and with all the youth players in the squad at the moment, Koscielny is setting a absolutely terrible example for them.
And for the reasons I explained, it’s a shitty hypothetical because theres little similarity between the cases.
Cech is a similar situation, Chelsea were content to treat him like shit until Abramovich intervened.
Imagine a scenario where Bergkamp would have liked to leave to retire at Ajax and the club said no.
Imagine a scenario where Adams wanted to play his final season in Borehanwood or whatever and the club said sorry no your under contract.
These are contextually comparable situations, not a teenage upstart and a perfectly fit striker in his prime years.
We don’t know that Arsenal said “no”. It’s more likely that the club Koscielny wants won’t pay for him due to his injury record. And Arsenal, having rehabilitated him, have every right to demand a fee. I also disagree with this idea that Koscielny is deserving of more special treatment. it’s because of his service to the club that he was already given a long-term deal in his 30s which is more than most footballers ever get. And no, Arsenal should never give players away while the squad is fighting to get back to the top of the table. Fuck… Read more »
Oh go fucking do one, telling me what fans like me would or wouldn’t do.
Fans like you probably sat their beating their meat to the Adidas promo video while you contemplated if your student loan would cover the price of all three kits.
What’s wrong with spanking one out to the new kit? The yellow one’s an absolute beauty
He’s contractually obliged to stay. Why should we let him go for free early? That will make us appear even weaker than we already do when it comes to player sales, and encourage other players to behave the same way.
People complain there’s not enough money in transfer kitty, then moan, we want to sell him , for REAL money , to another rich club who can afford him … MADDess
I though we sold r.v.p. Too cheap, and Vieria, Henry, fabsgas, edu, petit, over marrs.
get the money in for him and spent it. Simple and good alround for player , club and fans.
Kos. Will not get bosman. Signing on fee but no players bigger than the club.
yup, was gonna post this
If he can’t stand the rigours of premier league football he should be honest and retire
When was the last time we had a captain who didn’t leave under a cloud apart from Mert who is just a class act?
Arteta. Also a class act. He would have been a wonderful addition to the backroom staff as well, had he not been lured by Pep to City.
I know this won’t be a popular opinion. But the club are refusing to let him leave because they’re incompetent in the transfer market and can’t get what is needed done and lack the resources to do so. So they are refusing to let Kos go to France for a 2-3 year deal. Whatever happens. Even if this gets messy I can’t see any way I will end up disliking Kos for all his time at Arsenal.
Not only unpopular but untrue…he’s under contract to Arsenal…it’s not a 9-5 job where you just jack it in when you don’t fancy it anymore.
I can’t believe I have to point out the fact that Chelsea showed more respect to Cech and his wishes than we did to someone who has been just as loyal and just as prepared to put his body in the line for us as Petr did for them. How are we in a situation where we are taking lessons on decency from Chelsea?
Main difference being Petr was already replaced by Courtois at the time. Koscielny is still our most experienced and probably best defender when fit.
We also paid a reasonable sum for Cech.
Chelsea got 10m for Cech. It appears (though not confirmed obviously) the issue here is Kos wanting us to let him go on a free with time left on his contract so don’t see how this is the same thing at all….
Thank you for stating facts. I’m so baffled by this breed of fans we have.
Imagine being so deluded you think Chelsea being able to let players leave because they can just replace them with their bottomless well of petro-dollars means they are a classier, more decent club.
Fucking Chelsea ffs.
Imagine being so deluded that you have to fire potshots at people because they dont share your worldview. It’s not about them being able to afford to let players go because they can replace them, it’s about how they agreed to let one of their longest serving players go to a rival because he didnt want to move abroad and uproot his family.
We got Cech for free? Chelsea made £11 million selling their backup keeper to us. No comparison here.
He didn’t refuse paychecks when he was injured. How it would have been if had rrleased him when he was injured. Respect the contract you are a professional.
WOW! That is a biggie! Pretty much blown his legacy at the club regardless of whether he is a player we now need or not. Did not expect this at all. Sell him and end it.
Compare that to the low profile that Ramsey kept throughout his whole saga. Ramsey now has plenty of fan love for the way he handled himself, even if we’d have preferred him to accept our lower offer and stay.
Short, sharp, acrid statements on the .com – smells more like Barcelona than Arsenal. We were always a dignified club. Not too keen on this. Whatever you say about Wenger, he tried to keep things honourable and kept internal matters internal.
Barcelona don’t get legged over by players endlessly. I’m all for extending that to our club. Players have a shelf life. For which they are handsomely remunerated. The club goes on. I support Arsenal Fc not entitled multimillionaire player FC.
Yeah, we’ve got great promotional media personnel, that’s for sure (those videos!), but our actual communication from the men in charge is worthy of a satirical series: “Raul” (the hook being that he is at a club that is tanking badly but he believes he is still running Barcelona FC, but everyone around him has to buy into the fantasy … at the end of each episode, there is a character, kind of like the log lady from Twin Peaks, who dons an Arsenal shirt and speaks the clear truth, cryptically, but, of course, no one heeds the words –… Read more »
We really are completely falling apart. Is there anything to like about current Arsenal football club? :/ There must be something serious going on behind the scenes, I just don’t see Koscielny taking such severe action out of mere peace. So now we have Sokratis, Mustafi and Chambers as CBs (plus Monreal as backup and Holding still on his way to recovery). Mustafi should’ve been long gone and Chambers surely isn’t Emery’s favourite after that sudden and weird decision to loan him again last summer when we obviously needed cover for this position. Emery apparently doesn’t like Bielik either. Can… Read more »
Just to clarify: I don’t support Koscielny’s decision by any means, that’s not a way to deal with the situation, especially not now when we’re having rather difficult time all around.
Having said that, he has publicly expressed his potential desire to leave on several occasions in the last year or two, so there must be more to the story than what we know now.
On the one hand, this kind of points to a change of mentality and approach as a club. I imagine players could very easily walk away from Arsenal for greener pastures, atleast going buy the ridiculously low transfer fees we have been getting. It almost felt as if the club would just let you leave for peanuts for personal reasons, so I commend the club for taking this stance, but I hate that Kos is the guinea pig for this new approach because he has been a wonderful Arsenal man and it is unfortunate his time with us is ending… Read more »
Enough is enough – wtf is going on with our club? If they make no decent signings before the season starts then we should all vote with our feet. At least with Wenger in charge it felt like there was some sense of order. Now it’s a shit storm.
Shocking from Koscielny.
Can someone tell me WHY this statement was needed?
Maybe because the traveling squad for US tour is to be announced shortly, and when he is not on it people will be asking and wanting to know why?
They could have lied like they did with Özil.
With that…im now happy he missed the world cup.
It’s disappointing but my initial inclination is to back Kos. He said been a great servant to the club even when the club refused to get the required quality to match his and then ran his body to then ground. I also suspect he maybe had an existing agreement with the club that this would be his last season but the club, through poor planning and no budget are forcing him to go against their word as it’s well known he wanted to leave last season once arsene left. Maybe they convinced him for one more season now going back… Read more »
What if he wants to leave for free? Should that be allowed?
The club made an exception for him when they gave him a 3 year contract at 31. That was a proportionate reward for his years of service. There should be no obligation for the club to let him leave on a free while he still has a contract.
I will blame the club only in the case it emerges that the buying club was willing to pay a fair price for him but Arsenal refused to let him go.
I don’t get all these comments saying that this is some new policy from Arsenal. Other big names (Fabregas, RVP, Nasri …) in our squad have done basically the same thing in the last decade and the end result was always the same. They refuse to do something in order to get what they want and eventually they get it, as will Koscielny because there’s no way back from this now.
This is an update for the fans about my current situation. I have kept quiet all this time out of respect and loyalty for the club and as agreed with Mr. [Sanllehi] and Mr. [Emery], but since there is so much speculation [on the club’s official website], I think it is fair for you guys to know what’s really going on at the moment…
Absolutely want to hear his stand on this matter. He’s the last guy that is known for unprofessionalism or missing loyalty. There must be some serious reasons for this.
Could it be this? “The outlet claims that Koscielny is pushing for Arsenal to allow him to leave for free, whilst English press reports cited by the newspaper’s website claim that the Gunners want €10m to sell.” https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2019/laurent-koscielny-is-pushing-arsenal-to-allow-him-to-terminate-his-deal/
Voila
Very conflicted on this, as our best defender and club captain we need to keep him around but…… If we’d done any sort of business I’d have been happy to thank him for his service and wish him all the best. Disappointed the club have gone about it this way. Keep it behind closed doors, “Kos is being rested and readying himself for the start of the season” one 9d the few things Wenger did well towards the end
A new Van Persie is born.
Maybe Kos just couldn’t be Bordeaux
I’ve always liked Kos but amazed by some of the support for him in these comments. Totally out of order. Fine him as much as we can & sell him asap.
I don’t see a 33 year old player trying to secure his last days as a player being a problem. What I really have a problem with is that Arsenal FC, a “top club” on a global scale, is dependent on a 33 year old defender. If I was arsenal, I would have terminated his contract at the end of last season. Include Montréal in that bucket, too.
should get a decent amount of money, if we sell Montreal. 😛
Well that’s extremely out of character. If it is that he wants to leave I guess we should just let him. He’s not got long left in his career and if he wants to end it in France I wouldn’t begrudge him that. As long as we get a fee for him (and a replacement) I guess it might be time we let him go. That’s not to say this isn’t extremely disappointing coming from a club captain. It does not set a good example to the young players and is quite disrespectful to the club that pulled him from… Read more »
According to a report on the Guardian (taken from the Press Association): “It is understood Koscielny had made it clear to Arsenal that he wished to be released from his contract this summer in order to sign for another club. Upon Arsenal’s refusal to do so, the former France international refused to travel with the rest of the squad and the club will now open disciplinary proceedings against him.” Perhaps the wording is just poorly chosen, but this seems to imply that he wanted to be let go on a free transfer. Either way, it’s clear that he wants out.… Read more »
Give us back the cash you happily took while injured and the f**k off. No one is bigger than the club, can’t believe the amount of people defending him.
Can’t believe how many people telling him to f*ck off after a statement – issued by guys that have done nothing for this club – that actually tells us nothing and before they’ve even heard his side of the story.
Sorry mate, but it’s unprofessional and undeserving of the Arsenal captaincy to down tools, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what’s going on behind the scenes. End of.
His side of the story? He’s our captain, who we no doubt pay handsomely… And he can’t get on a private jet to fly to LA? to stay in what is likely to be a 5 star hotel? to train in some of the worlds best facilities? for a weekly salary that is reported to be into 6 figures? This does seem out of character, but surely we should have instantly stripped him of the clubs captaincy? And what’s the point in having a billionaire owner, if they don’t act like one? There’s no way we should cave here, I’m… Read more »
Heart Breaking but worries me why would he do that. More things wrong behind the scenes than what we imagined. If he wishes to move on, let him move on. He has been a great servant for the club.
We do not know the full facts yet, but this seems to be another sign of our utter incompetence behind the scenes. Kos has been an incredible, loyal servant to the club, and — having reluctantly stayed on last year and put his body on the line for us yet again – the Club should have rewarded him by giving him the transfer he wants and deserves (and brought us a nominal transfer fee in return). This stinks of the Club refusing to sanction his request (probably because they are as scared as we are at being left relying on… Read more »
Not condoning Kos downing tools. We can only speculate as to what’s happened. But whatever the reason, to me, it doesn’t reflect well on the manager. He had man-management issues at PSG which now appear to be repeating themselves at The Emirates. He hasn’t been able to manage Ozil – to me that substitution in Baku was spiteful, especially as he hooked him for a rookie. At that stage of the game it was tactically futile and wreaked of Emery trying to make the point he was in charge and humiliate the ‘star’ player. And the consensus is he binned… Read more »
Good for PSG that getting rid of Emery has solved he man-management issues at the club then…?
Perhaps the scouts have been too busy in Japan finding the next Arsene Wenger to find any new players?
Totally in support of Kos, its high time we tell ourselves the bitter truth, Arsenal taking both fans and players alike for granted, No major signing in strengthening last season’s weakness, yet we are going on a fraudulent tour to milk fans of their had earn money, paying media outlet to bring up news about exciting players that arsenal would never sign so that they can con fan to buy new kits and renew season ticket.
At the start of the summer there was a rumor that Kos had offers from France to return and he asked AFC to terminate his contract but that was refused AFC apparently put a £10m price tag on him I didn’t believe it at the time but it seems to be somewhat true. But if he wants to leave I would definitely let him go he had been struggling for a couple of seasons before he got seriously injured and has been at the heart of an Arsenal defense that has struggled for many seasons, I like him as a… Read more »
Can’t help but feel this should have been dealt with internally. Yet another instalment to the Arsenal and Stan ‘Amateur Hour’ collection.