Ex-Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny announces retirement and rejects racism allegations

Former Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny has officially announced his retirement from football following his acrimonious departure from Bordeaux in January.

The 36-year-old made over 350 appearances for the Gunners and was the cornerstone of the club’s defence for almost a decade, playing a pivotal role in two consecutive FA Cup triumphs.

A serious Achilles injury robbed Koscielny of the chance to represent France during their victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, but fought his way back to fitness to help Arsenal reach the 2019 Europa League final.

A 4-1 defeat against Chelsea in Baku turned out to be his final appearance for the north London club and he left under something of a cloud.

After nine years as an Arsenal player, Koscielny, then the club captain, refused to go on a pre-season tour of America having fallen out with Unai Emery who he believed had mishandled his workload and rehabilitation.

Koscielny subsequently moved to Bordeaux but an unhappy spell at the Ligue 1 club came to an end earlier this year when he was deemed surplus to requirements.

‘They gave me no reason for their decision,’ he told French sports daily L’Equipe earlier this year. ‘They just said it was their new strategy.

‘It’s a slap in the face. But I’m a fighter and I’ll continue to fight. In training, I’m still giving my all.’

Rather than carry on in professional football, however, Koscielny has now opted to hang up his boots having, along with Benoit Costil, been accused of ‘racist behaviour, by ultras group, UB87.

In a statement published by footmercato.net, Koscielny strongly denied those accusations.

A press release read: ‘Following the article published in the Sud Ouest newspaper on March 22, 2022, Laurent Koscielny was surprised,