Arsenal players were left stunned by skipper Laurent Koscielny's decision to go AWOL last week.

Koscielny, who refused to board the flight to the US, left his team-mates stunned by striking in a bid to force his way out of the Emirates.

A Gunners insider told football.london: "None of the first team squad could believe it. They were all shocked.

"Everyone at the club couldn't believe their captain would do that - from [Mesut] Ozil all the way down to the academy lads boarding the plane for [their pre-season camp in] Slovakia."

Koscielny is desperate for Arsenal to cut him loose so he can head back to France, where Bordeaux and Lyon are keen to take him.