Arsenal: Koscielny Contract Forgotten Among Sanchez And Ozil Mess
Much of the media focus is centred on Arsenal stars’ Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s quickly expiring contracts. However, what about Laurent Koscielny?
As the season rolls into the regular rhythm of weekend Premier League games supplemented by European trips abroad, weekly cup ties and utterly diabolic international breaks, much of the media attention surrounding Arsenal thus far, at least off the field, has focused on the contract situations of two of their star players.
Both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have less than two years remaining on their current deals. As the Gunners have painfully experienced in the past, allowing star player’s contracts to run down to only a year left leaves the club in a precarious position that often results in them losing out on their best players.
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Both players offer genuine concerns that must be settled throughout the coming months. Initial reports seemingly suggest that Ozil is the more likely to sign a new deal imminently, but Sanchez is stalling due to his insistence of the existence of a release clause. Both merit worry for fans and Arsene Wenger alike, but perhaps, amidst the media cloud of attacking talents, we are forgetting a crucial defensive piece of the jigsaw.
Laurent Koscielny has been, for many years, the anchor on which this Arsenal side has been built upon. An experienced, accomplished centre-half, his partnership with Per Mertesacker has been the cornerstone of a resolute defence which, while having issues against faster paced, more fluid and dynamic attacks, performed effectively and consistently throughout the past few seasons.
However, his contract expires in the summer of 2017 and if a new deal is not agreed before now, then he will be allowed to simply walk free from the confounds of the Emirates. At 31, Koscielny is no longer the long-term future of the Gunners’ defence and there is perhaps some argument to suggest that moving him on in favour of promoting younger prospects would be a wise move.
Nonetheless, the French international has displayed his immediate value to this side after his absence on the opening week of the season saw Arsenal concede four goals to Liverpool, and while age is against him, as a centre-half, longevity at an older age is still possible and with the recent addition of Shkodran Mustafi, there is an opportunity of yet another productive partnership at the heart of the back four.
The media storm surrounding the increasingly precarious Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez contract situations is detracting from the importance of Koscielny’s potential departure this summer. Arsenal and Arsene Wenger must be highly attentive as they try to hold onto their star players. Laurent Koscielny is one of them, and a new contract is increasingly important.
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