The Two Key Reasons Why Laurent Koscielny Decided to Leave Arsenal for Bordeaux
By 90min
Being overused and undervalued were two of the primary reasons behind Laurent Koscielny's Arsenal departure over the summer - which came about after some unsavoury actions from the club captain.
Following the Gunners defeat in the Europa League final, Koscielny refused to travel with the rest of the squad on their pre-season tour of America, in a desperate bid to force a move back to his native France.
The central defender insisted he was denied a move the club had previously stated he could have, with the stand-off between player and the Arsenal hierarchy eventually coming to a solution when the club sanctioned a £4.6m move to Bordeaux.
After nine years in north London, the decision from Koscielny was met with anger from the Arsenal fans, although The Athletic have since shed some light on the Frenchman's decision.
Following a desperately unfortunate injury last year, the centre-half was denied an opportunity to play a part in France's World Cup winning squad, as injuries took a toll on his body. Koscielny had opportunities to leave the Premier League, but injury had prevented that, with it in his mind that his next contract would be his last and a move to France would suit his young family.
Upon his return from a seven-month layoff, Koscielny was forced to play four games in just 13 days as injury plagued Unai Emery's defence. At 33, he felt this was too much of a strain on his aching muscles, yet he continued to feature heavily throughout the remainder of the campaign.
It was during this spell that Koscielny felt both overused and under-appreciated, especially when he was subject to criticism from the Arsenal fans after the club missed out on the Premier League top four at the tail-end of the campaign. The season culminated in a Europa League final in Baku, a match in which the Gunners lost convincingly 4-1, which only heightened anger from the supporters.
With Arsenal at this point reducing the contract offer to Koscielny to just a single year with diminished terms, the club captain felt it necessary to finish his career in the less physically demanding Ligue 1, and the move to Bordeuax offered him and his family the chance to live close to his hometown of Tulle.
“Everything was in my thinking”, he told L'Equipe. “Football, my physical state, my wife, my children, the daily life we could have”.
Koscielny is now a regular starter for the Ligue 1 side, with Bordeaux enjoying a solid start to the season as they sit seventh in the table after 13 matches.