Arsenal round-up: Koscielny appeal latest; Keown criticises duo; Manchester City lead race to sign forward

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Laurent Koscielny has now been officially ruled out of the FA Cup final after losing his appeal against the red card he received on the final day of the Premier League season, according to the Mirror.

His reckless lunge on Everton’s Enner Valencia saw him dismissed by Michael Oliver and the resulting three-match ban has been upheld by the FA, despite Arsenal appealing the decision. The suspension will carry over into next season, but the bigger blow is that he will miss the Wembley showdown with Chelsea and leave the Gunners with problems at the back.

This was the Frenchman’s fifth red card in the Premier League since he joined the club and no player has been shown more during that time. He does have a disciplinary issue and to suffer a suspension ahead of what is the biggest match of Arsenal’s season is incredibly foolish.

The Gunners are now facing a defensive crisis as Gabriel is injured and Shkodran Mustafi is a doubt, according to the Telegraph. This leaves Per Mertesacker and Rob Holding as the only fit senior centre-backs. Arsene Wenger will be hoping that Mustafi is available, but if isn’t, he will have a huge selection issue on his hands.

Martin Keown has been discussing Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, who are considered to be the best players in the current Arsenal squad. The pair have combined for 41 goals during the campaign, but neither have committed to a new contract.

The uncertainty regarding their futures has had a detrimental effect on the rest of the squad and it was one of the reasons why the Gunners missed out on a top-four finish. The following quotes that Keown gave when speaking on BT Sport have been reported by the Independent:

“It became about Ozil and Sanchez for too long in the season. I think their behaviour let Arsenal down in that period. Ozil wasn’t available for large periods. Was he injured, wasn’t he? Was it sickness, was it injury? He didn’t seem to be around when they needed him most.

“They’re the best players, they’re the type of players he loves most of all. They maybe let Arsene Wenger down.”

It is difficult to criticise the performance of Sanchez, as he was one of the best players in the Premier League over the course of the season. However, he and Ozil have provided unneeded distractions during the last nine months. Their contract uncertainty continues to be reported on in the media and that won’t have helped the rest of the players. No one player is bigger than the club and at times this season, it has felt like these two are.

Finally, the Manchester Evening News report on a Tweet posted by Chilean sports journalist, Maks Cardenas, that Manchester City are leading the race to sign Alexis Sanchez. The Citizens and Bayern Munich are both extremely interested in signing the Chilean this summer, but Pep Guardiola gives City the edge.

The forward is interested in reuniting with the Spanish manager and the report goes on to say that City are willing to pay around £50 million to complete a deal. However, Arsenal would prefer not to sell to a rival Premier League club and that could lead to him ending up at the Allianz Arena.

Arsenal supporters are desperate for the club to keep hold of their star player, but that is looking very unlikely. He is in the peak years of his career and he needs to be challenging for major honours. The last season suggests that he is unlikely to do that at the Emirates Stadium.

A move this summer seems inevitable, but the Gunners can’t afford to rush a sale. It would be a blow to lose him to a rival and they need to do everything they can to ensure that doesn’t happy. If it does, they will look weak and their stock will continue to plummet.

Featured image: All rights reserved by Stuart MacFarlane