Laurent Koscielny was set to leave Arsenal for Ligue 1 or China before Achilles injury, reveals agent

The Gunners captain felt it was the right moment to leave the Emirates Stadium along with Arsene Wenger, according to Stephane Courbis

Laurent Koscielny was considering “two or three offers” to leave Arsenal last season before he tore his Achilles tendon in May, according to his agent.

The 32-year-old was stretchered off in agony after suffering the injury during Arsenal’s defeat against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie, and missed out on France’s triumphant World Cup campaign in Russia as a result.

But in an interview with France Football, Koscielny’s agent Stephane Courbis revealed that the injury also cost his client the possibility of a move back to Ligue 1 or to China last summer.

"At that time, Laurent was playing what might have been his final matches with Arsenal," Courbis said.

"Laurent started to consider a possible move away from Arsenal at the same time as Arsene [Wenger]. The moment was right, leaving as [a] new coach arrived. I had already anticipated this and two or three offers were making us think hard.

"We were open to a number of options. China was one, as much as a return to France. Laurent could not see himself playing for another English team outside of Arsenal. Since Marseille's approach last season, the idea of a Ligue 1 return got him thinking. It was a genuine possibility.”

Laurent Koscielny returned to Arsenal over the weekend (Arsenal FC via Getty)

Koscielny is not expected to return to full fitness for several more months, but returned to London Colney two weeks ago to continue his rehabilitation and could yet play a significant first-team role under Unai Emery, who was announced as Arsene Wenger’s successor in May.

Arsenal have struggled defensively to adapt to Emery’s style in the early weeks of this season, with Shkrodan Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos failing to convince as a central partnership and goalkeeper Petr Cech making several high-profile errors while attempting to control and distribute the ball with short passes under pressure.

Koscielny revealed last month that he intends to leave Arsenal when his contract expires in the summer of 2020, but Emery still believes his captain can have a positive impact on the team once he gets back to full fitness.

“We are happy to have him here with us, because he's our captain and he's showing us his spirit to stay with us,” Emery said of Koscielny’s return to light training. “It's clear that it's very important to stay with us, working here and showing us that he wants to help us.”