Arsenal: Have we seen the last of Laurent Koscielny?

Laurent Koscielny used to be everything to Arsenal, but is it possible that he has played his last for the club following his injury?

Arsenal’s defense was the problem this year, in case you didn’t hear. And unfortunately, ol’ reliable Laurent Koscielny was part of that problem.

The Frenchman was suffering from a long-term achilles injury all year and it whittled away at his consistency, giving way to more mistakes than we are used to seeing from Koscielny, who is normally fantastic at what he does.

It ended worse than it began, as Koscielny went down with a serious injury that is expected to keep him out well into next season. With a new manager coming into the team, this is the worst possible time to be unable to uphold a player’s value.

Not to mention the fact that Unai Emery is essentially bringing in a sort of revolution, and part of that revolution involves new defenders, who are supposed to fix the defensive woes that Koscielny was a part of all year.

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So my question is, given the circumstances, is it possible we won’t see Koscielny in an Arsenal shirt again? Barring some sort of last-ditch cameo like Per Mertesacker had?

Honestly, it’s not the most unrealistic outcome in the world. This club is no longer emotionally based. And while Koscielny certainly has attachments to the club beyond any sort of emotional tether, the unfortunate part of the situation, for him anyway, is that the club is moving on without him. The number of centerbacks being linked with the club says it all.

Even if they only get the one, that one, barring any other sales, is here to replace him. And while Koscielny is trying to get back to health, the wealth of young defensive talents are going to be pitching their case to Emery, who will be building a relationship with them and understanding them on the pitch. All things that Koscielny will be missing out on.

Even the captaincy is likely to pass on to someone else.

Unless the Gunners stay deep into every competition, in which case Koscielny may have to be called upon, but given the suspected limitations of the upcoming year, it may be a bit of a stretch to think we can compete in everything.

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But then again, this is all speculation. We just have to wait and see.

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