Arsenal: Why does Unai Emery want Laurent Koscielny?

Unai Emery has stated that he still wants to keep Laurent Koscielny at Arsenal next season. But why? What does the wantaway captain offer the club and team?

The decision of Laurent Koscielny to refuse to travel with the rest of the Arsenal squad on their summer pre-season tour of the United States came out of the blue. While there were quiet murmours that he might want to leave the club in search of a new challenge as he enters the final years of his career, potentially with a return to France on the cards, no one quite expected such evasive and petrusive behaviour.

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The whole ordeal is made worse by the fact that Koscielny is the club captain. Not only is he now the longest-serving player at the club after Aaron Ramsey’s departure; he is the appointed leader of the dressing room. And so, when he wants out, he abandons it.

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From Unai Emery’s perspective, there is little but frustration to be found. While at nearly 34 and recovering from a ruptured Achilles Koscileny can hardly be relied upon like he could in previous seasons, the Frenchman was still Arsenal’s best centre-half last season and would have at least opened the season as a starter. And Emery still wants to keep him at the club:

"“He’s [Koscielny] a very important player for us. We are speaking with him and with the team, about my responsibilities, the club’s responsibility and his responsibility. With respect it’s better for us, it’s better for the team, and it’s changing our idea with the centre back, because if he is here with us this season, it’s very different than if he isn’t with us. At the moment it’s a very personal decision, and we are respecting that. I am speaking with him and we are going to find the best solution, but overall we need a player like him.”"

The one question I have for Emery, however, is why. Why would you want to keep an individual who wants to leave the club, is far past his prime, and has shown utter contempt towards his teammates and his coach with his actions? Koscielny may still be the best centre-half in the squad, but there comes a point where one’s character must be assessed also. And this is that point.

For all of the brilliant seasons Koscielny has put together, there have always been questions asked of his leadership, communication and presence. He performed best when playing alongside a domineering, organising individual who could bark out instructions while Koscielny just focused on his personal tasks. But as the captain of the club, he must now provide more than just solid play on the field, and his action this summer suggest he is incapable of that.

Moreover, it is not as if you are trying to hold onto Virgil van Dijk here. Yes, Koscielny is better than what Arsenal currently have, but he was still a key part of a defence that conceded 51 Premier League goals last season. And as he ages and his infamously brittle body depreciates, he will only be less reliable.

There are very few good reasons for keeping him at the club, other than the fact that the other players already in the squad are even less reliable. So why does Emery want to welcome him back into the fold? I am not sure I have a good answer.