Arsenal to extend Giroud, Koscielny, Coquelin contracts

While many fans are wringing their hands over the status of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s contract extensions, news broke today that Arsenal has tied down Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin to new deals.

Giroud and Coquelin’s contracts were set to expire in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Though they are borderline starters at this point with the emergence of Alexis Sanchez as a viable striker option and the purchase of Granit Xhaka to take over the defensive midfielder position, it’s important for the club to reward and tie down two members who have substantial impact to offer off the bench or as spot starters. Giroud was rumored to be returning to France in his near future, perhaps to Marseille, but that rumor was quickly shot down with this news.

However, the club didn’t stop there as Laurent Koscielny is apparently in advanced talks to extend his deal as well.

Koscielny, whose deal was set to expire in 2019 as well, has developed into one of the best Premier League defenders and has fluidly adapted to Shkodran Mustafi’s arrival to form a world class pairing at the back. His extension was a no-brainer.

Stay tuned for more news on these extensions as it breaks.