Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny had a number of offers to leave the club in the summer, according to his agent Stephane Courbis.

Speaking to France Football magazine (translated by Get French Football News), the player’s representative explained the 32-year-old could have left at the same time as Arsene Wenger:

“It was the right moment, the final moment to leave with the arrival of the new manager. I had already anticipated this, with two or three offers that were starting to make us think.”

“We were open to different options, China as much as France. He could not see himself playing for another English team other than Arsenal. Since the approach from Marseille last season, the notion of returning to Ligue 1 entered his thinking. It was a genuine possibility.”

France Football believe the three teams that Courbis mentioned were Lyon, Marseille and Monaco, but Koscielny opted to stay at the Emirates.

The defender is currently out injured with a rupture of his Achilles tendon and was initially ruled out for six months. However, the centre-back’s recovery has been quicker than expected.

Evening Standard journalist James Benge tweeted last week that Koscielny’s return date has been pushed forward, with the Frenchman now expected to return to full training in November.

The centre-half signed from Lorient in 2010 and has spent eight years with the Gunners, making 324 appearances in all competitions for the London club.