Throughout the season our defence has once again been a liability. The signing of Mustafi at first looked a good one but as the season has gone on he has looked pretty average. Still though, it was his first season so let's see how he does next season.
On to the main point: Laurent Koscielny. Many Arsenal fans go on about him being the best defender in the league but he very often is prone to costly errors. Can be rash at times and often caught out of position.
Just watching the game yesterday and Mertesacker came in and did a wonderful job considering he hasn't played this season.
In my opinion, Koscielny is very overrated and not the saviour of the Arsenal backline as many make him out to be.
Again, well done to Mertesacker, Holding and Monreal for a top performance yesterday, you did us proud.
Is Koscielny massively overrated?
posted on 28/5/17
So the OP is claiming Kos is over rated based on 22 games where his hamstrings were clearly not 100% and the midfield left the defence woefully exposed.
as I keep saying, you need to watch Xhaka defending in the games around that period. He is awful imo is largely responsible for a number of our loses.
posted on 28/5/17
Comment Deleted by Article Creator
posted on 28/5/17
So sorry for you that Koscielny got us to the final OP, you must be gutted for some peculiar reason
posted on 28/5/17
comment by Darth Stan Kronke the Sith Lord turned Darthen Wenger to the dark side (U16927)
posted 13 minutes ago
So the OP is claiming Kos is over rated based on 22 games where his hamstrings were clearly not 100% and the midfield left the defence woefully exposed.
as I keep saying, you need to watch Xhaka defending in the games around that period. He is awful imo is largely responsible for a number of our loses.
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spot on my dear, am sure we lost the top 4 due lack of defensive midfielders willing to put in a shift. The watford game!
posted on 28/5/17
Must admit Xhaka was anonymous for that Watford game. Almost as if he didn't play.
posted on 28/5/17
On a day like that we shouldnt talk about over- or underrated players. It really doesnt matter. The team turned up yesterday when it all matters. Loved every second of it.
posted on 28/5/17
Let's not get carried away. That was possibly Per's best perfromance in an Arsenal shirt. I have seen some shocking performances from him where he looks like an oil tanker turning round. And for such a giant he is pretty poor at heading the ball.
Imho Kos is our best defender. Doesn't mean that he is perfect . Like all defenders he is prone to making mistakes but his pace and timing usually cover a lot of mistakes made by our other defenders. At the moment our best 3 at the back looks like Holding, Kos and Nacho but loss of form and injuries will obviously allow Per and Mustafi opportunities as well.
I think it might be time for Gibbs and Gabriel to go.Chambers should have another season out on loan.I would give Szczesny one more season to prove himself as our No1 . Keep Cech as back-up and sell Ospina.
posted on 28/5/17
comment by Darth Stan Kronke the Sith Lord turned Darthen Wenger to the dark side (U16927)
posted 1 hour, 48 minutes ago
So the OP is claiming Kos is over rated based on 22 games where his hamstrings were clearly not 100% and the midfield left the defence woefully exposed.
as I keep saying, you need to watch Xhaka defending in the games around that period. He is awful imo is largely responsible for a number of our loses.
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That was meant to say 2 games. Im feeling a bit rough this morning.
posted on 28/5/17
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 1 hour, 45 minutes ago
Ooohhh, I am Gooner Now has a new target now that Giroud keeps mugging him off.
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They both have a negative impact on our play for the same reason, but in different ways. Its a lack of pace. Our front play is consistently less effective once Giroud gets fatigued. If he had Ramseys engine he would be a great player, but he doesnt so should not be more than a sub imo.
With Xhaka you need to watch what he does when the opposition get the ball. He doesnt close down players and lets them run past him far too easily. The game that stands out for me was Crystal Palace where they ran off him for the whole game. He picked up Townsend a few times who left him for dead when running for the ball (or did Townsend deliberately stand near him to exploit his lack of pace). Xhaka didnt even try to run a couple of times.
Another thing Palace did was stand off players and when Xhaka passed to them they attacked the ball and won it most times. Boro did the same to good effect a lot of the time although we won that one.
Xhaka has improved this in the last few games though although he still has a long way to go
posted on 28/5/17
Xhaka been very good for us since we changed formation and put 3 at the back. Seems to know what his role is more and his partnership with Ramsey is growing.
This is Xhaka first season in the pl and I've seen plenty to suggest he can be a Petit like player for us.
Everyone raves about Kante but let's see how his energy levels are when he has to play 2-3 games per week.