This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
On July 22, 2019, Arsenal announced that Laurent Koscielny, the former France international, had refused to fly to the United States with the team.
The decision came after his request to have his contract terminated and find a new club was rejected by Arsenal.
However, it has now been revealed that Koscielny has reached a contractual agreement with Rennes, a French club, and the two parties are working to convince Arsenal to sanction a transfer.
According to RMCsport, the French outlet, the agreement between Koscielny and Rennes was reached after the player, who has one year left on his contract, did everything in his power to force a move back to his home country.
Arsenal boss Unai Emery had spoken to Koscielny three times in an attempt to get him on the club's pre-season tour, but the player had decided to stay.
Emery admitted that he had spoken to Koscielny with a good spirit, but ultimately, it was the player's decision to stay.
Emery stated, 'He started training with us this pre-season and I spoke with him three times for his situation. We wanted him to come with us on this tour but he decided to stay. Now it is a matter for the club and for the player.'
