Beast. Loved the bit where Defoe was trying to shield the ball out of play to win a corner for Spurs and Kos out of nowhere came and smacked it out for a throw in. Also did not give Soldado a moment's rest.
Tbh, I think Kos is our most over rated player. He is great at attacking the ball and is a great tackler, but the problem is that is where his game starts and ends. Its why he doesn't work with TV as well as TV likes to attack the ball but has the awareness to stay back sometimes. Mertesaker is the perfect foil for Kos as he just mops up when the ball pops out which it frequently does. Don't get me wrong, I think Kos is a great player but people sometimes don't seem to notice the fact he can only play in one way. Its also been the same period since he became a regular in the first team that some other players, mainly Szcz, have been getting more stick for not playing as well but I think the two are linked as there is less certainty in front of goal.
My only complaint is the unnecesary lunges he sometimes makes. There arn't many defenders in the league i'd swap him for though..
I think it was you that made this exact post before. You have Vermaelen and Koscielny the wrong way around. Koscielny is the modern day CB personified, and he's ****ing incredible at it. Vermaelen was dropped for him because he's nowhere near as good as Koscielny.
a fair comment but you KNOW he will make the challenge . I see far too many players backing off and hesitating , this allows the opponents another 10 -15 , yards . As Piskie said , its what he does , its what he is paid to do , and we KNOW and the opposition KNOW he will not shy away from doing it. He made Defoe look like a little girl today , CLOUT , have that yer fucker !!.
I think you are right about TV and Koscielney being the same type of player and not playing well together. Not sure that I see your point with the rest though. Kos is going to miss occasionally, or make a mistake, but he has the pace to recover unlike a lot of CBs. He isn't perfect, but you can't expect anyone to be 100%.
He had an outstanding game and didn't put a foot wrong, i was wondering where Soldado was at one point? Kos was so dominant at the back that Soldado had to move in deeper to pick up the ball, that showed how good he was playing. But it wasn't just Kos that played well on the weekend but a great team effort. Without a sold display in midfield (Ramsey, Flamini etc), then he wouldn't have been able to control proceedings so well. This is the kind of performance Arsenal needs to maintain and be consistent at. On a more serious point, is Kos signed up to a new deal? If not then we really should do that as if he keeps this level of performance going, top Euro teams will come sniffing big time at the nd of the season. Is Barca in need of a new CB?
As I said, I think Kos is a great player, but is over rated by Arsenal fans imo. Watch him closely and I think you will be able to see where I am coming from. There are always quite a few occasions when Mert comes in behind Kos and tidies up after him. Its the combination of (and I don't mean this in a negative way) headless chicken flying in and slower bfg coming in behind that works. If you take Mert out of the equation Kos suddenly is not the player you all seem to think he is. Kos does make mistakes and the reason he gets away with them is Mert. They have formed a very effective partnership, but because their styles compliment each other well rather than either if them being the "complete" defender. The reason I keep saying Kos is over rated is because a lot of fans give him all of the credit when both of them deserve to get it because its the combination that makes Kos look so good and get away with a lot more. From the way some people go on about it you'd think Mert barely deserves a mention. Its a team game and when the team works well together they all deserve the praise, not just singling one player out because the others make him look good. I would also like to point out in response to previous comments that I can recall several times when TV was going for a ball and Kos charged in and took it off TVs foot leading to goals being conceded or shots on some occasions. He should have been covering TV as the best placed player to deal with it but doesn't do that so he effectively tackled his own player and hes done it to other defenders as well. I've even seen some idiots blame TV on one occasion when he was waiting for a long ball to drop in front of him which he was going to kick forward. Kos flew in from about 10 yards away, got a toe on the ball which went to their winger and they scored. I wish I could remember who it was now but too much alcohol in the past and my memory is not what it was. There was similar in that Carling Cup final and its happened other times as well. It also leaves a gap behind the CBs. That's the weakness that Kos has and why I think he does not deserve to be singled out as much as some fans do.
To be a good defensive side, you need to work together as a collective and work for each other. This is what Arsenal did on the weekend. Yes Kos did some eye catching defensive tackles, but he was aided by a very good team effort. Not only was Mertz a great partner but players like Ramsey was covering the defense really well.
Has Kos been signed up to a new contract, or on a long one? If he continues to play at a high level, then he will be highly sought after in the next summer transfer window, especially from skillful, ball playing teams like Barca. It is not only Manchester United who missed out on key targets as the summer transfer window closed. Spanish champions Barcelona were left to reflect on one that got away as attempts to sign Paris St-Germain defender Thiago Silva ended in failure. "In the history of Barcelona, the signing of a centre back has always been complicated," says Barca's sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta. "We have the squad we wanted and one that will be able to compete extraordinarily well."
Koscielney has been good and received alot of praise on this board (Zlatan)but for me Mertesacker has been overlooked. He keeps the defence organised and brings an air of calm to the squad. (we used to have a habit of panicking) He has also performed better since being made Captain.
