Even though Arsenal’s return to form has calmed some nerves, not all issues appear to have been addressed at the Emirates stadium.
For a player the magnitude of Laurent Koscielny to enter the final year of his contract without much concern publicly shown by the club should be worrying for Arsenal fans.
The likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez may have their own contractual complications, but Koscielny’s situation could have greater consequences than anyone else’s.
While Ozil and Sanchez still have a contract with Arsenal which does not expire until June 2018, the same cannot be said of Koscielny who could choose to say goodbye at the end of this season as a free agent.
Arsenal have been here before with players who are entering either the final months or years of their deals and no lessons appear to have been learned from the disputes which saw Robin van Persie and Bacary Sagna go from fans’ favourite to former Gunners within the stretch of a season.
Back in the fall of 2011, few paid attention to Van Persie not renewing his deal at the beginning of what turned out to be his last year at the club and in late 2013, Sagna’s delayed talks over a new contract did not bother too many people.
Fans of the Gunners assumed the duo would go on to sign new deals back then and they seem to be assuming Koscielny will go on to do the same now.
Yes, new contracts require some time to finalise and perhaps much longer than actual transfer deals, but by FIFA rules, Koscielny can secure a verbal agreement with any club of his choice ahead of the summer if he does not plan to sign an extension with the Gunners.
Arsenal have always maintained a long-standing club policy of being reluctant to offer players over the age of 30 big new deals and that may well be the reason behind Koscielny’s delayed recommitment.
After all, the 30-year-old France international has become one of the Premier League’s household names and he probably believes he can attract a better offer from elsewhere if Arsenal are still dithering over the value of his new deal.
Thus, it would not come as a surprise that Koscielny has made up his mind to not remain at Arsenal.
