Arsenal: Laurent Koscielny departure a benefit

With Laurent Koscielny reportedly on his way back to France, we take a look at what his departure means for Arsenal. Could the club actually be better off?

It’s not often a team loses its captain and becomes better, but not all captains are Laurent Koscielny. This is not to say he is not a good player, nor that he hasn’t been a marvelous captain for the team in his time in North London. He has been at the very least one of those things and arguably both. But he is almost 34, riddled with injuries which have handicapped his form and ability in recent campaigns, and may find his current ability is well suuited to a return to France.

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Bordeaux are set to sign Koscielny in a £4.6 million deal, which will see his nine-year English career come to an end. While Unai Emery has very recently stated his hope is to retain the captain, Koscielny’s desire to play in France equally matches his desire to never play for Emery again.

The 33-year-old centre-back’s time as a dominant force on the backline is no longer. Sokratis now fills the role of grizzled veteran in the middle more effectively at this point in their respective careers. Consequently, while Koscielny’s departure hurts the club from the standpoint of experience and leadership, youth and development is now of greater importance.

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Arsenal’s defense was not good enough for any player to be sacred to the team, especially not one who’s age and injury history mirrors the Frenchman’s. Bettering that defense by whatever means necessary is the goal for which losing Koscielny can be justified for.

For Arsenal, the centre-back position is one in which internal youth and external transfer money should be utilised extensively. With Rob Holding returning from a brutal injury, his recovery and subsequent standard of play will be key to the timbre of the entire season. Calum Chambers’ return from Fulham offers another potential solution, while Dinos Mavropanos will hopefully be more readily available this season also.

The transfer for William Saliba will bear fruit next campaign, with the season-long loan back to Saint-Etienne a condition for the transfer agreement itself. His arrival would have coincided with Koscielny’s departure, had it not been forced a year prematurely. While this is an inconvenient circumstance for the Gunners to find themselves in, it again presents opportunity in North London. Developing Holding further, or youth like Chambers, certainly is the logical step. Saliba will naturally fill that void upon his arrival in a year, but for now, there are young, unproven but talented avenues to explore.

And then there is Shkodran Mustafi. The sale of the hapless German to just about anyone has become an Arsenal fans fetish for years; Monaco would be perfect if they’d pay the £27.5m fee Arsenal want for the player. But for now, it seems as though finding a buyer is difficult. However, should a Mustafi sale be completed this summer, adding even a £15 million fee to the £4.6m fee for Koscielny and the possible loans for Eddie Nkietiah and Carl Jenkinson could grant the Gunners additional funds for replacing Koscielny in the final few days of the transfer window.

Daniele Rugani of Juventus seems a possible target, as Arsenal have long desired his play at the back of the defense. Dayot Upamecano of RB Leipzig is another possibility, and might actually be the best possible solution at this point in the window. His £50m evaluation is steep, but he is only 20 years old and could anchor the defence for the next decade. Moreover, with the aforementioned sales, there is more money available than perhaps meets the eye.

As Arsenal’s transfer plot for left-back Kieran Tierney spans the entire window, it seems as though any money raised now would not be needed to secure his transfer. There is, seemingly, already a pot available to prise the Celtic defender south. With a few key sales, Arsenal could dip back into the transfer market for another centre-half, although time is desperately running out.

That Koscielny was not an important part to many positive Arsenal moments and achievements can never be said. But it can equally be argued that he no longer fits the future of the club. His loss will hurt because of what he has done, but his departure will help the team move forward.