Laurent Koscielny had offers to leave Arsenal before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid, according to his agent. The 32-year-old was considering moving on for a new challenge with clubs in France and China showing an interest him prior to his injury setback which ruled him out for at least six months. Koscielny is Arsenal’s second-longest serving player behind Aaron Ramsey but he was willing to end his eight-year association with the club after it was announced that Arsene Wenger would be leaving.
However, his agent, Stephane Courbois, insisted that a move to another Premier League club would not have been an option for the defender. Speaking to France Football, Courbois said: ‘At that time, Laurent was playing what might have been his final matches with Arsenal. ‘Laurent started to consider a possible move away from Arsenal at the same time as Arsene [Wenger]. The moment was right, leaving as [a] new coach arrived. I had already anticipated this and two or three offers were making us think hard. ‘We were open to a number of options. China was one, as much as a return to France. Laurent could not see himself playing for another English team outside of Arsenal. ‘Since Marseille’s approach last season, the idea of a Ligue 1 return got him thinking. It was a genuine possibility.’
Koscielny’s chances of moving on were scuppered when he was forced off early on into Arsenal’s second leg defeat to Atletico in May – a result that ensured that Wenger’s final season with Arsenal would end without a trophy. Not only did the injury end any possibility that Koscielny would leave Arsenal, it also meant that he missed out on participating at the World Cup in Russia which France won in his absence. The Frenchman has recently resumed light training at Arsenal’s Colney training base and has been pencilled to join in with first-team training in November. In his absence, Arsenal have won two and lost two of their opening four Premier League games, conceding eight goals in the process with summer signing Sokratis failing to truly convince alongside Shkodran Mustafi.
