According to reports, former Serie A giants AC Milan are now eyeing a move for Arsenal’s experienced centre-half Laurent Koscielny as the Italian side looks to rebuild themselves following yet another disappointing season. The Arsenal skipper has established himself into one of the best defenders in the Premier League and now with Arsenal falling out of the top four, he has a high chance of leaving the club.
Milan finished at the sixth position in the Serie A table last term and didn’t have a good enough defensive record conceding 45 goals, despite the heroics of Gianluigi Donnarumma. Now they have joined the likes of Manchester City, French club Marseille and Chinese Super League side in Koscielny’s pursuit.
Despite being one of their better players for the last three seasons, Koscielny was unfortunate last season, to put it mildly. His coming off the pitch totally crumbled Arsenal’s backline in both the legs against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it was his silly challenge on Enner Valencia in the final game of the season that earned him a red card and as a consequence kept him away from the clash against Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
Arsenal would forever remain indebted to Per Mertesacker for his one match last season that sealed them the silverware. However, apart from that, Koscielny was his consistent best throughout the season. He played 33 league games for Arsenal and scored two immensely crucial goals in them and also managed an assist.
He won 60% of his average duels with an 87% passing accuracy. Alongside Shkodran Mustafi, Kos played a significant role in Arsenal’s 13 games unbeaten run at the beginning of the season. The pair was even popularly termed ‘Kostafi’, they were so flawless in their movements. However, things took turn for the worse as Arsenal lost two back to back games against Everton and Manchester City.
Arsenal’s defence couldn’t quite retain their solidity since then. The Gunners have conceded 44 goals last season, which is eight more than what they had in the 2015-16 season when they finished second. With Wenger unearthing a new constant success with his back-three formation, Koscielny is expected to lead the line alongside Nacho Monreal and Mustafi next season.
However, with that said, he is already 31 and as things have always been with Arsene Wenger, he just might consider selling the player if the right offer comes. Although with three years still left on his contract, that thought has hardly crossed Wenger’s mind.
