ARSENAL fans were braced for a difficult summer. After failing to make the Champions League by first squandering a top four place and then losing the Europa League Final, they knew they were likely to encounter problems during pre-season. However, no Arsenal fan could have predicted the situation that has arisen around Laurent Koscielny. As the Gunners set off on their tour of America, a curt statement announced that the club captain had refused to travel.

It felt rather appropriate for a club that has seemed to spend the summer lurching from embarrassment to embarrassment. Bidding for players far below the asking price, failing to offload unwanted personnel, potentially losing out on a transfer target to rivals Tottenham—all of those pale in comparison to the team’s supposed figurehead downing tools. Arsenal have long been criticised for lacking leaders. The one they do have has effectively abdicated.

This is extremely disappointing. https://t.co/ZgS2F4683o

— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) July 11, 2019

In fairness to Koscielny, the reason it’s so surprising is that this seems to be entirely out of character. The Frenchman is always seemed like a diligent, loyal player. He’s one of the few Arsenal defenders in the club’s modern history with the capacity to play for a bigger, better club, and yet he never agitated for a move in his prime. This summer, however, he appears absolutely determined to return to France. It’s presumably a move motivated more by lifestyle than legacy.

It’s difficult to decipher how the argument between player and club has come about. Clearly, there are two sides to the story. According to the BBC’s David Ornstein, Koscielny had been in in talks with the club about extending his stay in north London beyond 2020. When Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League, those talks were cut short. The likes of Bordeaux and Rennes are reported to be offering him a three-year deal, and the player would clearly like the chance to extend his career in his homeland. Koscielny has one year remaining on his current contract, but might have felt his service would mean Arsenal would be happy to let him go.

Under the previous regime, that might well have happened. One can well imagine Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis stepping aside and allowing Koscielny to get his wish, setting the seal on the move with a statement eulogising the player’s professionalism and dedication. 

However, this is a new Arsenal: one more governed by pragmatism than philosophy, and one that is clearly attempting to try and take a harder line with players. Head of Football Raul Sanllehi has insisted that wherever possible Arsenal will not allow players to run down their contracts and leave for nothing, as Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck have done this summer. It appears the club are making an example of Koscielny.

They do so with some justification too. Arsenal cannot afford to let Koscielny go, in any sense. From a financial perspective, they need to recoup every penny they can. Reports of a €10 million fee are obviously unrealistic, but Arsenal are not wrong to demand some compensation for losing their best defender. There lies the second point: Arsenal cannot afford to lose Koscielny from a footballing perspective either. 

Arsenal are open to letting Laurent Koscielny leave the club provided their valuation is met, Sky Sports News understands

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 16, 2019

The problem is that they may well have to now. Their statement has made his position effectively untenable—certainly as captain. The only centre-half Arsenal have been seriously linked with in this window is William Saliba: a teenager who would not even formally join the club until 2020. It would appear the club were planning to use Koscielny to tide them over, and now the player is unwilling.

The upshot may well be that Arsenal are left relying on Shkodran Mustafi—a player they would probably have preferred to sell, had a buyer been forthcoming. In a summer in which Arsenal’s defence desperately needed to improve, it could potentially get worse.

Arsenal’s hierarchy are under fire at the moment, and justifiably so. Their handling of the awkward Koscielny situation will be under considerable scrutiny. Arsenal fans have wanted the club to take a stronger stance on these issues, but not at the expense of affairs on the pitch.