Arsenal’s Sead Kolasinac close to Schalke return

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Arsenal’s Sead Kolasinac is currently in Germany and closing in on a return to Schalke 04 on a temporary basis for the rest of the season, according to Sky Sports, who also say that the Bundesliga side are confident that the business will be completed very soon.

Kolasinac passed through the youth ranks at Karlsruhe, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart, before joining Schalke’s Under-19 side at the age of 17 (in January 2011). A year and a half later, he was promoted to the first team for which he played a total of 123 games in all competitions over five years, scoring four goals and adding 13 assists to his name. In 2017, his contract expired and he joined Arsenal as a free agent.

His arrival was seen as a good move in terms of strengthening the Gunners’ back line, but he never really made the place on the left defensive flank his own. The club eventually signed Kieran Tierney from Celtic in 2019, and so far they haven’t looked back.

Kolasinac played only once in the Premier League this season – a 2-1 triumph over West Ham on September 19th, and he was only named on the bench twice since then. He did, however, play four times in the Europa League, as well as three in the Carabao Cup.

The 27-year-old is keen to return to Germany for family reasons as well. His contract with Arsenal doesn’t expire before the summer of 2022, and the Premier League club will still be paying a portion of his wages.

Schalke currently sit at the bottom of the Bundesliga table, having not won a match in the German top flight for almost a year now, and they will be hoping for their former left-back to provide some steel on the left side of the defence as they battle on to survive.