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Arsenal willing to let Laurent Koscielny leave in January – report

By mac14 on October 29, 2018

A bit of a shock report has emerged today claiming that Arsenal are willing to let Laurent Koscielny leave in January if he can find a new club.

Koscielny is on the very of making his comeback from a serious Achilles injury that he suffered during our Europa League semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid towards the end of last season.

The 33-year-old is back in full training and I, like many fans, have been eagerly awaiting his return to action over the coming weeks as our defence has once again been a concern this season.

We’ve shipped far too many goals already this campaign and Shkodran Mustafi gave away a needless penalty during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, showing yet again he can’t be relied upon.

I was looking forward to seeing if Koscielny could solve our problems by forming a solid partnership alongside Sokratis in the middle of defence once he returns to full fitness.

However, it seems Unai Emery may have other ideas as according to TeamTalk, Arsenal have informed Koscielny they will not stand in his way if he gets an offer to leave in January.

The report says Koscielny’s agents are making enquiries to top clubs throughout Europe to gauge any interest in signing the centre-back this winter with Barcelona understood to be keen to take him to the Nou Camp on a short-term basis.

TeamTalk say that Emery is pleased with his current options at the back and is ready to let Koscielny go, so it seems the Frenchman isn’t going to be in his first team plans even when he’s ready to return to action.

I’d be shocked if this report is true. Rob Holding has been steady this season and Sokratis has impressed since arriving in the summer but our defence has been largely woeful and Mustafi is an accident waiting to happen.

Koscielny’s form was on the decline when he got injured last season and we do need to find a long term replacement for him but he’s still miles better than Mustafi or Holding so I hope he stays with us until the end of the season.