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Wenger reveals Arsenal star may miss West Brom clash

By on November 19, 2015
Laurent-Koscielny arsenal

Image credit: Express

Arsene Wenger has revealed that he may be forced to leave Laurent Koscielny on the sidelines against West Brom this weekend as the defender has been deeply affected by the Paris terror attacks.

Koscielny was playing for France against Germany when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Stade de France on Friday and the centre-back was visibly upset during the French national anthem prior to the game against England on Tuesday night.

The 30-year-old went on to have a disappointing game as England secured a 2-0 victory at Wembley and Wenger has admitted Koscielny was out-of-sorts during the match.

The boss says he intends to speak with Kos ahead of Saturday’s clash with West Brom and is prepared to leave him out if he feels the defender isn’t mentally ready.

Wenger is quoted as saying by the Express.

“He had a fantastic game against Germany. And you could see that on Tuesday night he was not himself. It affected him deeply and I didn’t recognise the player I saw on Friday night on Tuesday night,”

“I will talk with him. I have not talked to him yet, but I will talk to him to see if he is completely recovered and focused.

“It’s a big game for us. You have to trust the player in these kind of situations. Today in the Premier League you don’t get away with it with 80% focus. You have to be completely committed.

“What I will want from him is that he’s completely committed and feels ready. If not, I will not play him.”

It would be a big decision to leave Koscielny out this weekend but I think it would be the correct call if he isn’t in the right state of mind. As Arsene says, you need complete focus in the Premier League and we can’t afford for Kos to be below his best.

If he is left out then we have Gabriel ready to step-in alongside Per Mertesacker but hopefully Koscielny is ready to play as he’s our best defender and the West Brom game is likely to be a tricky test.