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Hours after news that rocked Arsenal first began emerging from London Colney the majority of the Arsenal squad boarded the jet that will take them to Los Angeles and an American tour that could scarcely have come at a worse time.

Club captain Laurent Koscielny stunned Arsenal by refusing to travel on the tour and asking them to cancel the final year of his contract so that he can leave on a free transfer. The 33-year-old is still training but will play no part in the four fixtures Unai Emery's side will be playing Stateside.

Though undoubtedly the highest profile name not on the jet Koscielny was far from the only absentee in the 29-man squad.

football.london looks through some of the names that didn't travel below...

Laurent Koscielny

Koscielny has left Arsenal in no doubt that he wants to leave the club and has made clear that after nine years of service he believes that the Gunners should cancel the final year of his £90,000-a-week contract so that he can sign elsewhere without a club having to pay a transfer fee.

Though Arsenal are sympathetic to Koscielny's desire to return to France - where Bordeaux are prepared to offer him a three-year contract and Rennes are also interested - they were stunned by his request that he be allowed to leave for nothing.

(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Koscielny is yet to publicly address his actions and sources close to the defender declined to comment when contacted by football.london. However Arsenal left no-one in any doubt as to their stance in a terse statement.

"We are very disappointed by Laurent’s actions, which are against our clear instructions," it said.

"We hope to resolve this matter and will not be providing any further comment at this time."

Xavier Amaechi

In a squad packed with young talent it was significant that winger Amaechi did not make the plane particularly when players such as James Olayinka and Robbie Burton, who he is ahead of in the Under-23 pecking order, were on the plane.

Amaechi is not expected to sign a new contract at the club as he enters the final 12 months of his current terms and has joined the Under-23 training camp in Europe in a move that suggests Arsenal are growing increasingly pessimistic over their chances of retaining the winger, who is wanted by several La Liga clubs in addition to German champions Bayern Munich.

football.london revealed last month that Amaechi had been particularly disappointed not to be named among the substitutes in the Europa League final, the only member of the travelling party not to make the bench.

There remains a possibility that Amaechi will see out his contract at Arsenal, particularly as the Gunners would demand a significant fee for the youngster.

Krystian Bielik and Matteo Guendouzi

Both these prospects had significant involvement in the European U21 Championships in Italy last month, with France going all the way to the semi-finals, and the pair are still on holiday. Reiss Nelson also took part in the tournament but played limited minutes and has returned to pre-season early.

Though Bielik's absence is based on that holiday the Polish midfielder's future is very much in doubt as Arsenal jet off.

(Image: Lukasz Sobala/PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images)

Bielik is understood to want to leave Arsenal and has emerged as a target for several Championship clubs including West Bromwich Albion and Charlton Athletic, for whom he shone on loan last season. Publicly the 21-year-old has insisted he does not want to play for the Gunners' youth sides.

Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny

Iwobi and Elneny have been involved in the Africa Cup of Nations, hosted in the latter's home country of Egypt. The Pharaohs were eliminated in the round of 16 stage by South Africa, who were subsequently defeated by Nigeria.

That means that Iwobi will now be involved in the tournament until at least the third-placed playoff on July 17 with the final taking place two days later in Cairo.

As football.london reported last month, if Iwobi were to make the final his involvement in the Premier League opener against Newcastle on August 11 would be in serious doubt. Arsenal intend to give all of their players three weeks off after international duties.