Sead Kolasinac sends farewell message to Arsenal teammates as Schalke switch confirmed

Gunners stint

Kolasinac, 27, has been on the books at the Emirates since 2017, having made the move to north London on the back of the expiration of his contract with Bundesliga outfit Schalke.

His capture, at the time, was viewed as quite a coup for Arsenal, with ‘Kola’ fresh off the back of a stellar campaign, which saw him secure a spot in the German top-flight’s team of the season.

The years since, however, have seen the Bosnian international, for the most part, fail to reproduce such brilliance.

Whilst showcasing flashes of his undoubted quality over stretches, particularly when operating in a wing-back berth, Kolasinac has simply failed to produce the type of consistency required of a defender plying his trade with a top European club.

The beginning of the end for the ex-Stuttgart youth at Arsenal came in the summer of 2019, when Kieran Tierney was brought to the Emirates from Celtic.

The opening months of the new campaign, meanwhile, saw Mikel Arteta make crystal clear his lack of faith in Kolasinac’s talents, with the stopper having been afforded a paltry single Premier League start thus far in 2020/21.

Schalke return

In turn, it had since come as little surprise to see speculation mount surrounding a potential January departure from north London for Kolasinac.

Former club Schalke were one such club tipped as a potential landing spot over recent days, with Die Knappen in desperate need of mid-season reinforcement.

And, as outlined above, in a major boost, the Bundesliga basement dwellers have today pushed a deal for their former standout over the line.

In a post across the club’s social media platforms a short time ago, Arsenal confirmed that Kolasinac has opted to link back up with Schalke for the 2nd-half of the season:

🗞 Sead Kolasinac has agreed to join Bundesliga side Schalke on loan for the remainder of the season

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 31, 2020

The 27-year-old himself, meanwhile, has since also taken to Twitter, to wish his teammates in the English capital the best of luck over the months ahead:

I wish my team all the best for the next six months! 💪🏻
Thanks for everything! 👍🏻
Stay strong, stay safe and stay healthy! 👋🏻 @arsenal pic.twitter.com/KEHZrMwMgB

— Sead Kolašinac (@seadk6) December 31, 2020

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Source: 101greatgoals.com