Unai Emery has broken his silence on Laurent Koscielny's refusal to be part of Arsenal's pre-season tour in the United States.
Amid his desire to have his contract at the Emirates Stadium ripped up to facilitate a return to France this summer, the 33-year-old has stayed behind in England.
Until now, the Gunners head coach hasn't had a chance to address what happened so it was no surprise it was a hot topic in his post-Colorado Rapids press conference.
"He started training with us this pre-season and I spoke with him three times for his situation," Emery told reporters. "We wanted him to come with us on this tour but he decided to stay.
"Now it is a matter for the club and for the player."
The Spaniard was then asked if Koscielny still has a future at the club.
"He has one year left on his contract," Emery added. "For me as a coach he's an important player. Now it's one matter for him and the club.
"The club and him need to speak, they are speaking about his situation. I cannot say more than that.
"I spoke with him before he came here and he decided to stay there.
"We spoke with a good spirit for both the team and him but this is his decision, only his decision. He's speaking only with the club.
"Really I cannot say more about that. For me now it's clear we need to keep moving ahead."
Without Koscielny, Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Bukayo Saka, James Olayinka and debutant Gabriel Martinelli were all on the scorehseet and next up for the Gunners is a clash against Bayern Munich in the early hours on Thursday morning (UK time).
