The star forward says Koscielny has repeatedly tried to convince him to join the Gunners.
Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann has told France Football, as quoted by the London Evening Standard, that his France teammate Laurent Koscielny “often” tries to convince him to join Arsenal.
The Gunners have been linked with Griezmann in numerous transfer windows over the past few years, although the only move he has made in the last decade is to join Atletico from Real Sociedad in 2014.
After hitting 32 goals last year at club level, the 25-year-old was named top goalscorer and best player at Euro 2016 after racking up six goals and two assists in seven games in France’s run to the final.
He has already hit the net nine times for Atletico this season, and there is sure to be further speculation about his future over the next few weeks as the January transfer window approaches.
In an interview with France Football, Griezmann admitted that Koscielny is always trying to convince him to move to the Emirates, but he apologised to Gunners fans as he swore that he would be staying at Atletico.
Griezmann said, as quoted by the Standard: “For Arsenal, he [Koscielny] speaks to me about them often. But I feel good at Madrid. I do not want to leave. I feel calm here.
“The little one [Griezmann’s daughter] has just arrived, I am playing matches, I feel good. Sorry, I am going to stay. But Arsenal is a wonderful team. They play great with the ball.”
Arsenal fans will be disappointed – if unsurprised – to hear that Griezmann will not be showing up in North London anytime soon, but they would be forgiven for clinging on to that final line from the star in which he voiced his admiration for the Gunners.
There is a widely-held belief among Arsenal fans that the addition of one more top-quality forward could be all they need to close the gap between themselves and the summit of the Premier League table.
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