Should Koscielny be kept as right back for Arsenal?
“My mates tease me calling me the White Cafu!”
Perhaps Laurent Koscielny has not shown the incredible consistency that Cafu had, but he has had performances that even the Brazilian legend would have been proud of.
More impressively, his switch to right-back has only provided further defensive stability for the Gunners. While a great majority of central defenders tend to struggle to adapt to roles in wider positions, Koscielny has only excelled in dealing with pacey forwards in recent matches.
The awful error in the Carling Cup Final might have been a horrific memory for him, but he has recovered and improved beyond recognition this season. He does not excessively close down attackers as he used to in the past, has improved in the air and challenges attackers more assuredly. In short, his confidence and his ability in defending has made him a much better player for Arsenal.
Winning titles always starts from the back and with Szczesny and Vermaelen primarily commanding the backline, Koscielny’s impressive defensive ability will add more solidity to the backline at present when it is needed. While putting Koscielny at right-back is hardly a winning formula for the Premier League or cup competitions, it can at least help Arsenal tide over Christmas hopefully with nine more points in the bag.
As Bacary Sagna recuperates from his broken leg, Arsenal fans will certainly feel comfortable with Koscielny plying his trade at right-back. He may not be Cafu just yet, but he is the new Arsenal hard man who can carry the backline and the team forth to glory. There is more to come from this Frenchman!
Trackback: trackback from your own site.
COMMENTS GUIDELINES: ANY COMMENTS WITH SWEARING OR PERSONAL ABUSE WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT EXCEPTION: PLEASE DISCUSS THE SUBJECT IN A FREINDLY AND OBJECTIVE MANNER. SERIAL ABUSERS WILL BE BANNED. PLEASE BE NICE TO YOUR FELLOW GOONERS!
You’ve got to give it to wenger where does he get such talent from and how does he bring it out of them. Kos is doing a fantastic job at RB bt i like him at CB, he is not afraid of going foward in a game and developing as a player
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
44 
1
I can’t wait for the future, imagine our squad:
Szczesny
Jenkinson Miquel Bartley Gibbs
Wilshere Coquelin Ramsey
Chamberlain Walcott Ryo
Opinions divided. What do you think?
24 
31
When Sanga comes back Mertasacker drops to the bench…
Sagna,Kosielny,Vermaelan,Gibbs
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
43 
16
koscielny has been oustanding all season and it shows that we where all rong about calling for a defender as we have per , kos and ver who are all top center backs , per is coming along nicely and has put in some good strong performances for us over the last mounth and will get even better, same with Tv5 he has been solid two and when all are full backs are fit i dnt know who would make way but at the moment i am not worried as this is the most solid i have sene arsenals defence in years …
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
21 
2
Love this article.
I must admit that I had serious doubts over Koscielny. His meteoric rise through the French league to Arsenal was my main concern.
However, he has been seriously good so far this season. I’m filled with confidence when he, Vermaelen, Sagna and Szcesney are at the back. I love his grit, and determination. He is showing real strength and I can only hope he grows as a player to become as important (if not already) as Vermaelen.
I’ve been converted into a big fan of Koscielny!
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
50 
0
Lets promote Hector Bellerin from the Academy during the FA Cup
he is 16 and wasnt Cesc the same age when we gave him a run in the league cup
If the kid can turn out like him, nothing like it
Rate this comment:
0 
5
As above… Mert is far to slow. And if i am to be very kind he needs a year to get used to it. The best pair we have is Kos And Verm in the middle.
I can actually watch the game with some confidence then.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
22 
1
well done kos keep up i like his ball pass with accurate timely i begin to think he could play as dm good luck go gooner go take all pts
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
12 
0
Coquelin or Yennaris should play RB for now until Sagna gets back. Both will allow Arsenal to push forward more on the wing. I prefer Coquelin at RB for now as he possesses a wide range of skills and versatility. His pace will give midfielders and LBs nightnmares.
I personally believe our best CB combo is Kozzie and Verminator. We need aggression to assert some situations and this combo isn’t scared to put their heads in front of any boot. They’re great headers of the ball and both have a good vertical leap. I like Mertesacker but the guy is too slow and at times weak when contact is made. I do admire his reliability and his mental game though.
Come to think of it, if we landed Vertonghen in the summer, we wouldn’t have so many dramas. That would allow the following formation which has class and experience:
Vermaelen Kozzie Mertesacker Vertonghen
Anyway, I don’t want to sound like another person who keeps mentioning Vertonghen’s name, knowingly well that the chances of buying him are slim.
Rate this comment:
4 
1
A.W will have to buy a LB.TV5 is needed at CB.
Rate this comment:
7 
0
Yes…Koscielny is the man for us till sagna returns… until then per has more time to make the fight tougher for the person to play at centre with tv5…. for me Koscielny has made us forget about the Gary Cahill saga …. cause in my humble opinion… they are very same in physique and operation on field…
Rate this comment:
7 
0
when sagna gets back
sagna per koncielny verminator
people hu would drop per are crazy,he is a massive player for us and he is not used to prem yet.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
7 
9
As The person above me said why would you drop per he is extremely important as he gives a sense of calmness and stability.
Rate this comment:
7 
4
buy a LB wenger!! please!!! i beg you !!
Rate this comment:
1 
1
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
1 
11
I think we should get 1 more centre back because i am not completely convinced with per as he is too slow. I think if gibbs doesn’t get fit and keeps getting injured we should get Nagatomo or Jordi Alba.
Rate this comment:
2 
5
as soon as we can get mertesacker out of the starting line up we should! im sure he will adapt eventually, but hes too unreliable to play CB for us at the moment
Rate this comment:
3 
5
getting vertonghen seems unlikely now. i wud love to hv samba in arsenal shirt.reminds me oof sol campbell.strong solid.i wud prefered him than mert.sory to say that.he ddnt even dserved to b at blackburn.poor samba.he wna prove somethng to wenger bt yet he cnt see. keep saying our squad is big with quality.yes robin,song,tv5,wilshere,szc,koscielny is a quality. squid,almunia,bendtner,denilson,fabianski,arshabin,chamakh. – this seven player for 3 players.one back,middle,striker. samba/vertonghen,goetze,podolski. reduce some spaces with quality players.
gibbs??hw cn i say this??cn he stay long??only as a backup to santos.bt f santos injured.even him doesnt stand long nt even on the pitch yet.wenger hope he does sort this out in january.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I would like to remind everybody that many of the same things we are saying about Mertesacker now are things we were saying about Koscielny this time last year. Give the boy some time to adapt to the league. He may end up being a better player for Arsenal than Cahill or Samba ever would have been.
Rate this comment:
2 
0
i’ve always knew kos is a good player, no one can forget the performance he showed against barcelona, there are times he make mistakes, but hey, last season is in fact his first at Arsenal.now he’s showing stability and now seem to gel with the team. he’s going to be better and better. if i were wenger i’d play him as sub RB and CB, jenkinson is good, but not experienced enough i can only see him as secondary deputy to sagna and kos.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I would prefer we use our 3 best CBs on rotation. Dropping any one will affect their game. I am a big supporter of per for one simple reason, huge experience. The reason we were conceding loads of goals were lack of calmness and indecision in the box. This affected us both in open play and set pieces. However I like how this guy clears things out of our box with calmness, good in set pieces. True he is slow but he makes great tackles and keep our back calm and door closed. Since he’s been with us we are conceding less and more stable at the back. So I would say rotate and nobody gets dropped
Rate this comment:
0 
0
eosaz, good analysis. Rotation is key to bck4. Only an experinced leftbck needed to perfect the bck line. Gooners-4life!
Rate this comment:
0 
0