READ: Pepe criticised by Arsenal legend "A Premier League season is very long. It requires a lot physically and mentally. I didn't feel I could play 40-50 matches and I didn't want to end my career with injuries. I've gone down a level, but to take more pleasure," he told L'Equipe: "Either I finished there or changed clubs. With my family, we felt it was time. Everything was in my thinking: football, my physical state, my wife, my children, the daily life we could have. "I can only say that I left with my head held high. All of those I worked with for nine years... everyone respected my decision to return home with my family."
Laurent Koscielny: Why I left Arsenal
There were reports that Laurent Koscielny forced his way out of Arsenal, but the Frenchman has now broken his silence on why he left the Gunners. After nine years with the North London outfit, the central defender opted to leave with one year left on his contract. It was confirmed by the club that Koscielny refused to go on the club's pre-season tour, before he eventually sealed a switch to Ligue 1 side Bordeaux. The 34-year-old has now revealed that the physical requirement of the Pemier League would have been too much for him.
READ: Pepe criticised by Arsenal legend "A Premier League season is very long. It requires a lot physically and mentally. I didn't feel I could play 40-50 matches and I didn't want to end my career with injuries. I've gone down a level, but to take more pleasure," he told L'Equipe: "Either I finished there or changed clubs. With my family, we felt it was time. Everything was in my thinking: football, my physical state, my wife, my children, the daily life we could have. "I can only say that I left with my head held high. All of those I worked with for nine years... everyone respected my decision to return home with my family."
READ: Pepe criticised by Arsenal legend "A Premier League season is very long. It requires a lot physically and mentally. I didn't feel I could play 40-50 matches and I didn't want to end my career with injuries. I've gone down a level, but to take more pleasure," he told L'Equipe: "Either I finished there or changed clubs. With my family, we felt it was time. Everything was in my thinking: football, my physical state, my wife, my children, the daily life we could have. "I can only say that I left with my head held high. All of those I worked with for nine years... everyone respected my decision to return home with my family."