The Gunners seemed to have a decent shot at the Premier League title last season with most of the big guns misfiring. But Leicester City’s fairy-tale was too good for them as they finished in the second place come the end of the season.
The manager was criticized for the lack of transfer activity last summer but he has started brightly this summer snatching Granit Xhaka early in the window. However, he now has another problem of trying to hold to on to his star players going into the next season.
The likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have been linked with big-money moves away from England last month but all such rumors have cooled down now leaving the Arsenal fans relieved. But the one-star player who is now seriously being considered by a European giant in Bayern Munich is French defender Laurent Koscielny.
It is safe to say that the 30-year old was one of the most impressive defenders in the Premier League last season and he has been consistent over the years for the Gunners proving his mettle time and again.
So it comes as no surprise that Carlo Ancelotti at Bayern Munich wants to add him to his squad. Jerome Boateng has been exceptional for the Bundesliga side and will start under Ancelotti next season while the manager has already acquired the signing of Mats Hummels from Borussia Dortmund who will be given the first preference due to his experience in the league.
This will leave the Arsenal defender as a back-up and for a player who lead his side to the finals of the EUROs in his own country, Koscielny will not be happy starting on the bench.
But the real reason Bayern are swooping for him is the fact that the player is currently in negotiations with the club over a new contract which have now reportedly stalled.
It was revealed that Wenger wants to tie Koscielny to the club for the long term and is offering him a contract worth £90,000 a week which is considerably less than what most top clubs currently pay their stars in the Premier League. So naturally, there is a bit of a window for big clubs to lure him and Bayern wants to act on it.
The footballwhispers.com website rated as one of the hottest and if it is to be believed, Koscielny is on his way to Germany to bag a lucrative contract.
None of these is official yet but if the Gunners are not ready to improve his contract, Koscielny may well end up playing for Bayern Munich in years to come.
Do you think Koscielny should leave Arsenal this summer?