Arsenal: Laurent Koscielny situation no fault of the club

The Arsenal board has made a great number of mistakes in recent times. However, the current situation involving Laurent Koscielny is not one of them.

This week, Arsenal’s club captain, Laurent Koscielny has gone on strike in the hope of securing a move away. Arsenal are set to begin their U.S. tour and the veteran Frenchman refused to travel with the squad.  The club’s official statement left fans in shock There was no margin for doubt here.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — The Big Season Review

The majority seem to be on the side of the club, which is a good thing. Unification is somewhat of a rarity within the fan base. And that does somewhat line up with the goings-on at the Emirates. From an external perspective, it appears as though it is a common opinion that the situation is no fault of the club’s controversial hierarchy.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Koscielny’s contract was extended by a one year due to the fact that the club inserted that option into the last contract the 33-year-old signed. Various reports state that he did not want the contract extended and that he now wants a move back to his native France. The situation involving the club captain is certainly a difficult one, however, the predicament is no fault of those who run the club.

Time and time again, we have witnesses quality players leave the club for nothing due to their contracts coming to an end before there is a chance to sell them for significant transfer fees.  At the end of last season, the likes of Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey left due to the expiration of their contracts. Welbeck is a player, who, in today’s market, could have easily generated £15 million. Furthermore, Ramsey presumably may have recouped somewhere in the vicinity of about £50 million. However, both players left for nothing.

In the case of Koscielny, however, the club were proactive and inserted an option to extend his contract. Many reports stated that Arsenal were looking to sell the long-serving defender for around £10 million. However, given what has happened as of recently, it does not appear as if the previous said amount will be received.

Koscielny reportedly wants to terminate his contract with the Gunners. The contract termination would most likely cost him around £5 million, which is the value of his deal for the remaining season. This is a Substantially lower amount than the club was reportedly looking to sell him for.

The entire situation regarding Arsenal’s current captain shows that the players have far too much power in the modern game. The fact that Koscielny can demand a move away — and likely engineer one — despite having a contract for another year and being in a position of leadership is deplorable. From a club perspective, questions seriously have to be asked about how captains are chosen at the club. No true leader who cares about their club would work for a move in the manner in which Koscielny has.

It seems as though it is certainly time to cut ties with the defender who has been with Arsenal for nine seasons. But they should take no share of the responsibility for this messy split. They have done nothing wrong. Thankfully, most of the fan base seems quite aware of that.