Arsenal Opinion: Laurent Koscielny Has the Potential to Be Arsenal's Hero

With only Carl Jenkinson and Gervinho being Arsenal’s main purchases this summer, Arsenal fans’ quest for a defender is yet to be complete despite a plethora of names including Gary Cahill, Christopher Samba and Phil Jagielka being widely linked to the club.

Toward the end of the season, Arsenal collapsed, and their defense was particularly shoddy as they struggled against teams like Fulham, Aston Villa, Bolton and Stoke, and all this meant that they had to endure their sixth straight trophyless season.

There is no denying that Arsenal’s defense needs another member, preferably a player who can become the defensive leader, the organizer that Arsenal need.

The problem with Arsenal isn’t that they lack defensively talented players.

No, they possess good defenders and players like Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny possess the quality to become great defenders.

What they are lacking is a player who can add organization to the defense, a player who brings an aura of calm and exudes confidence even when Arsenal are under pressure.

But right now, Arsenal are under immense criticism and hence their flaws are being overplayed. The chief among this is their defensive flaws.

People have been quick to forget Arsenal’s defensive performances during January and February, the period during which they had the league’s best defense as Koscielny and Djourou formed a solid partnership.

People have forgotten Arsenal’s defensive excellence in the performances against Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona.

Recently there has been widespread call for Wenger to embark on a spending spree and bring in several people. And normally when people call for wholesale changes, people expect several players to leave as well.

I found it surprising to see that people have been calling for the ouster of Koscielny.

Despite his solid performances toward the end of the season, I noticed that people still doubted his capability and his quality as a defender. Some people even labeled him in the same category as Sebastian Squillaci.

Now there is no doubt that Koscielny isn’t world class yet, but I for one believe that he isn’t getting the credit he deserves.

The call for more than one defensive signings stems from the fact that Arsenal lack any top quality defenders with Thomas Vermaelen widely considered to be the only quality player among Arsenal’s centre backs.

I personally feel that both Koscielny and Djourou are extremely talented players with Koscielny having an extremely bright future.

A reason why people doubt Koscielny is mainly because at the start of last season, he struggled, getting sent off twice and put in a number of poor performances mainly against Tottenham and Newcastle.

So despite his remarkable improvement in the second half of the season, as he established himself as Arsenal’s best defender, people still question his vast ability.

After getting used to the rigors and pace of the English Premier League last season, I completely expect Koscielny to continue his growth, and I see him asserting himself as Arsenal’s best centre back at the end of the 2011-12 season.

It may seem a very bold prediction, but I wholeheartedly believe he has all the qualities required to become a world class player at Arsenal, and he showed signs of those toward the end of last season.

Wenger has always shown immense faith in his struggling players and despite the Frenchman’s dodgy performances at the start of the season,  he kept faith in his summer signing and Koscielny rewarded his faith with a set of remarkable performances.

For a player who just two seasons before joining Arsenal was plying his trade in the French second division, it is interesting to note that some of his best performances came against Manchester United and Barcelona as he was marshaled the defense with aplomb in the company of the largely improved Johan Djourou.

There is no doubt that Koscielny has all the attributes to become a successful defender for the Gunners.

He might not possess an intimidating frame like the likes of Samba or Vidic, but what he lacks in stature, he makes up in commitment and a hard tackling attitude that always sees him give his best.

One of his biggest assets is his pace, an asset he has used to great advantage several times in his short Arsenal career.

One of the defining moments when I think about Koscielny’s pace is his last man tackle on Aaron Lennon in the Carling Cup first round when his sliding tackle prevented an almost certain goal.

His pace combined with his good tackle means that he can recover well, even when he has fallen behind an opponent.

He sometimes tend to give an impression of being a tad clumsy, but actually, he is a solid tackling, although his judgment could do with some working on especially when it comes to the timing of his tackles within the box.

Another asset of Koscielny is his heading. One thing I noticed about him was that he had a solid leap and an equally good header to go along with it.

Around the November-December period, several people questioned, Wenger’s rationale behind signing Koscielny when he could have opted for a more experienced campaigner.

While he still may have his doubters, his performance towards the end of the season and throughout 2011, will be a definite bright spot for the Gunners’ faithful.

While Djourou struggled towards the end of the season with a series of below par performances, Koscielny remained largely solid and performed well, a beacon of solidity in comparison with Djourou.

Another interesting aspect of his game is that he is a good passer of the ball. While passing ability is not a trait you would look to keenly in a defender, very often Koscielny has started a counter attack with his good passing from the back.

He has a decent passing range and even forays into the opposition half during counter attacks when the occasion calls it.

He still has several rough edges in his game. Although he is a keen reader of the game, his decision making often lets him down.

Sometimes he has a habit of losing the player he is marking instead trying to attack the man with the ball. This can cost his team dearly at times. Koscielny has great anticipation and uses his ability to read the game than physical presence to be successful.

But due to lack of cohesiveness in the current team, there have been a few instances when he has made the wrong decision. Improving on this ability, both as a team and as a player is vital for the club.

His tacking too has let him down, having conceded penalties against Wigan and Barcelona. These are certain areas of his game that could do with some minor improvement, but with slight adjustments, he can blossom into something special for the Gunners.

But considering that it was his first season in the EPL, he has adjusted well and can only improve with experience.

Part of his initial indifference can be accounted as an adjusting period into the pace and rigors of the league and once he adjusted to the EPL, he looked calm and composed and even recovered well from his Carling Cup mistake with Wojciech Szczesny.

With Arsenal looking primed to sign a new defensive player, some might expect Koscielny to miss out on a starting spot. But I believe that he will cement his place in the starting lineup this season.

With Vermaelen having to balance his left back duties as well, it might be down to be Koscielny and Djourou to fight it out for the other centre back spot.

Currently, I feel that the ex-Lorient man has the edge on the Swiss international, and I wholly expect Koscielny to be a vital cog in the Arsenal team as they look to end their trophy drought.

Arsenal's defense will be surely strengthen this summer and with depth in the squad, Arsenal will have a better chance of winning a trophy next season. 

Koscielny might not have been the solution to Arsenal’s defensive needs last season, but with experience under his belt and with a desire to become better, expect Arsenal’s talented defender to come out all guns blazing and show the Gunners’ faithful that he is indeed the best Arsenal can offer at the back.