Koscielny was outstanding against Germany, a game which was overshadowed by the night's events |
ARSENE WENGER will give Laurent Koscielny leave if the Arsenal defender is not in a fit state to return to Premier League action.
The Arsenal manager fears his fellow Frenchman remains traumatised by the Paris terror attacks.
Wenger, who was in the French capital during the atrocities, would have no hesitation in pulling the defender out of his side for Saturday's trip to West Brom. He says Koscileny was "deeply affected" by last Friday's horrific events in his homeland plans heart-to-heart talks.
Koscielny, 30, had played in the friendly against Germany which was targeted by suicide bombers.
The centre-half then appeared during France's emotionally-charged game against England on Tuesday, and was visibly overcome with emotion. He shed tears during his country's national anthem and appeared affected throughout a below-par display in front of his club manager at Wembley.
Wenger said: "I will talk with him. It's a big game for us so I will talk to him to see if he is completely recovered and focused.
"Sometimes it hits you more two or three days later than on the night. On the night you try and protect yourself or you do not know what's going on. But slowly you realise the shock is always a bit after.
Koscielny was extremely emotional before the England game |
"Koscileny is a good example because he had a fantastic game against Germany. And you could see on Tuesday night he was not himself. It affected him deeply and I didn't recognise the player I saw on Friday night on Tuesday night.
"What I will want from him is that he's completely committed and feels ready. If not, I will not play him."
Gunners and France team-mate Oliver Giroud, who has also returned to training, will be given the option of sitting out the game at The Hawthorns.
Just like Koscielny, Giroud spent most of the night holed up inside the Stade de France due to the on-going security threat. Wenger will monitor the players to decide whether they are troubled and not in the right frame of mind to play.
"You look for resilience and them showing desire to play," he added. "I will look how deeply they are affected. They have gone through that game but I will talk to them to see how much they are up for it.
"One way to deal with it is to focus on something else and do what you can do. But you have to trust the player in these situations. Today in the Premier League you don't get away with 80 per cent focus."
Wenger had planned to attend the friendly in his homeland but was delayed and instead remained in his city centre hotel. He ended up watching the game on TV.
Just hours later the full scale of the co-ordinated attacks emerged, resulting in the deaths of 129 people.
"I was more under shock than fearful for my safety," said Wenger. "In the hotel we were quite secure but the streets were completely empty.
"The whole city was shocked. To discover how much your own citizens hate you and hate your country is a big shock. Why does this country get kind of treatment?
"I would like to thank the English community and English football who have shown great solidarity. England have handled this situation with a lot of class.
"It looks like it's not the end of it, so there is still a question of security. The way for us is to get on with life and respond in a positive way to the situation.
"The football world has responded the way you want it to respond in a big inion and a big togetherness. You cannot just stop everything."
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