Sead Kolasinac has sent a message to Arsenal after it was confirmed that he will be joining Schalke on loan for the rest of the season.
The Bosnian joined the Gunners on a free transfer in 2017 and went on to make 113 appearances, scoring five goals and winning the 2020 FA Cup. However, he has found game time hard to come by this season and has appeared just once in the Premier League.
He will now return to the club where he came through as a youngster and spent five seasons as a first team player for the remainder of the season.
Speaking on social media after the move Kolasinac was quick to wish his parent club all the best and thanked them for his time at the Emirates.
"I wish my team all the best for the next six months!" he said in a tweet.
"Thanks for everything! Stay strong, stay safe and stay healthy!"
The 27-year-old also spoke to Schalke's official website after the move was confirmed to express how excited he is to be returning to the club where he came through as a youngster.
"I’m happy and proud to be wearing the royal blue of Schalke once again," he said.
"Over the coming weeks and months I want to do my part in order to help us pick up as many points as possible. We will manage to stay up together, I’m 100 percent convinced of it!”
He has a fight on his hands to save Die Königsblauen from relegation. They are currently bottom of the Bundesliga table, having sacked two managers already and failed to win a game all season.
Kolasinac's move is set to be one of many loan departures that Arsenal will sanction across the January window to reduce the size of their bloated squad.
Mikel Arteta confirmed this would be the Gunners' approach in his press conference ahead of their trip to West Brom.
"Well, we have a large squad. We knew that," he said. "A lot of things that should have happened in the summer we could not accomplish them for different reasons."
"There are a lot of players that are going to go on loan. They are going to leave. And that’s the priority at the moment because we cannot sustain the numbers that we have in certain positions.
"We are looking to do that. And then we will see if we have the right opportunities in the positions that we need some more help we are working with the club to try to address them."
The move will come into effect on January 4th, and is subject to the completion of legal and regulatory processes.
