The French defender has made no secret of his desire to head home this summer and is now in the process of completing a return to Ligue 1.

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Laurent Koscielny is in France to undergo a medical at Bordeaux, with a €5 million (£4.6m/$5.6m) deal close to completion, while Carl Jenkinson is also edging towards the exits at Arsenal.

Sources close to events in north London have confirmed to Goal that the experienced centre-half is set to see his wish granted of securing a return to his homeland.

Koscielny, who still has one year left to run on his contract at Emirates Stadium, has made no secret of his desire to head home this summer .

He has been pushing for a move despite Arsenal’s reluctance to part with his services.

The Gunners had been hoping that the 33-year-old could be talked around , allowing him to see out his agreement and aid Unai Emery’s cause in 2019-20.

His departure will leave the club short on reliable options at the heart of their back four, with questions having been asked of Shkodran Mustafi on a regular basis.

Koscielny is, however, determined to make his way back to Ligue 1 after nine years in the Premier League and is now in the process of finalising a switch late in the summer window.

Arsenal have reluctantly agreed a sale with Bordeaux but will feel that they are bringing in decent money for a player running down his deal and with his best years behind him.

The Gunners are also holding talks regarding the potential departure of another long-serving defender.

Jenkinson, who joined from Charlton in 2011, has emerged as a target for Championship side Nottingham Forest.

They are in the market for a new right-back after seeing Tendayi Darikwa suffer an untimely knee ligament injury.

Arsenal are open to the idea of parting with Jenkinson, who has made just 13 appearances for the club across the last five seasons.

The 27-year-old has spent much of that time either out on loan or injured, with two spells at West Ham and one at Birmingham.

It is understood that any agreement which takes him to the City Ground will be worth around £2m.

If Arsenal have any intention of bolstering their ranks after overseeing more departures, then they have until 5pm on Thursday to get any deals over the line before the latest deadline passes.

Source – Goal.com