Arsenal have started disciplinary proceedings against their club captain, Laurent Koscielny, after he refused to travel to the United States for a pre-season tour as he attempts to force a move.
The 33-year-old centre-half is believed to have his heart set on a return to his native France, with Lyon, Bordeaux and Rennes possible destinations.
Koscielny believed he had a way out of his contract, which has one year to run, this summer based on the deal’s structure and he is demanding the club free him of his obligation and allow him to leave for nothing.
Arsenal maintain Koscielny was always contracted until next summer – any options were over and above that term – and they are so furious at his behaviour they have taken the unusual step of releasing a statement to condemn him. If he stays, he is certain to be stripped of the captaincy.
“Laurent Koscielny has refused to travel to the US for our pre-season tour,” Arsenal said. “We are very disappointed by Laurent’s actions, which are against our clear instructions. We hope to resolve this matter and will not be providing any further comment at this time.”
It has emerged that discussions over Koscielny’s future have been taking place since before the end of last season. They have escalated since his return to training last Friday, with the threat being made about refusing to travel to the US unless his wishes were met.
Arsenal were unsure if Koscielny would see it through. He reported for training on Thursday only to inform the club he would not board the team’s flight to Los Angeles, which departed from Stansted at 12.30pm. Arsenal begin their tour against Colorado Rapids on Monday and also play Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Real Madrid.
Arsenal’s position is that they cannot have players walking out on their contracts. They say they have had no contact from clubs regarding Koscielny.
Unai Emery’s other established options in central defence are Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Nacho Monreal. The club have been open to offers for Mustafi. Holding will miss the start of the season while he finishes his recovery from a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Emery also has Calum Chambers and Konstantinos Mavropanos – although the former is for sale – and hopes to sign William Saliba for £27m, although the 18-year-old defender would be loaned back to St-Étienne for the season.
Koscielny joined Arsenal from Lorient for £10m in the summer of 2010 and played in the FA Cup final victories of 2014 and 2015. His stance is another headache as Emery works to strengthen his squad on a restricted budget, owing in part to the club’s continued absence from the Champions League.