Laurent Koscielny, has returned to France after nine years with Arsenal, joining Bordeaux after the clubs agreed a fee of up to €5m (£4.6m).
Koscielny, who had been club captain, had a medical at the Ligue 1 club on Tuesday. Arsenal had earlier confirmed that the centre-back was joining Bordeaux “subject to regulatory processes”.
A statement on Bordeaux’s official website said: “Laurent Koscielny has officially signed for the Girondins de Bordeaux. The club is thrilled to welcome the France international, who joins us from Arsenal.
Nouveau joueur, nouveau maillot, retrouvez-le dès maintenant ici ➡ https://t.co/6Jb2BRKbIo pic.twitter.com/eCfsGaSUYS
— FC Girondins de Bordeaux (@girondins) August 6, 2019
“The club is absolutely delighted to welcome a player with such a wealth of top-level international experience. And now we can’t wait to see him in action with the boys in blue! Bienvenue Laurent!”
In an official social media video, Koscielny was shown ripping off an Arsenal shirt to reveal the colours of his new club, a gesture that has angered fans, including Ian Wright, the former Gunners striker.
Wright tweeted: “This hurts. The level of disrespect. You should be ashamed for the way you’ve left the club after 9 years! Got what you wanted and still trying to have a dig. Hope it’s worth it in the long run.”
The move is a blow for Unai Emery on the eve of the new season, with Arsenal’s short-staffing at the back already an issue. But it also removes a significant problem as Koscielny had made it clear this summer that he wanted to leave.
That desire led to a dismayed Koscielny refusing to join Arsenal’s preseason tour of the US after the club refused to end his contract a year early and let him depart for free. Arsenal said at the time that they were “very disappointed” with the actions of a player who, since arriving from Lorient in 2010, has been a consistent and upstanding character.
But Bordeaux’s willingness to pay a fee broke the deadlock between the parties and the 33-year-old Koscielny, who made 353 appearances for Arsenal, got his move.
Arsenal will see defensive reinforcements as a priority and are interested in the RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano, as well as Daniele Rugani of Juventus.
