Written by Aditya M S
on
Wednesday, 26 October 2011 13:01
It is often said that the first impression is the best impression. And usually it is right. But not in football. Football fans know that football is anything but usual.
But what the first impression, although erroneous, does is that it ensures that the tag created about a player sticks no matter how good he plays and it takes a lot of time before it finally goes away. And when the particular player doesn’t happen to be an attacking midfielder or a striker, the task of removing the tag becomes that much more different.
People will remember you for your poor performances only, often forgetting that for every poor game you have, you might have had many more games in which you dominated. You will face unfair criticism often. Sound familiar with any Arsenal player? For me, its Laurent Koscielny.
Signed from Lorient in the summer of 2010, he did endure a tough start to the league. He was nervous, seemed out of depth, lacked the physical presence required to be successful in a fast paced league like the Premiership and his game was riddled with mistakes. But with the turn of the year, there was a remarkable upswing in Koscielny’s form.
Partnering the surprisingly superb Johan Djourou at the heart of the defense through January and February, the duo formed the best defense in the league, at least temporarily. Koscielny’s performed remarkably well alongside Djourou and went a long way in vindicating Wenger’s faith in him. The reason several doubted his ability and his talent stems largely from his form early in the 2009-10 season. The injury to Thomas Vermaelen and with Johan Djourou still recuperating from the injury that left him out of the 2009-10 season meant that Koscielny was left to partner fellow summer signing Sebastian Squillaci.
Although Squillaci did perform well in some of his early games against the likes of Sunderland, Bolton, his career has been in freefall ever since he came to Arsenal. Inexperienced with the pace and rigors of the English Premier League and left partnering a slow, struggling defender, Koscielny was hardly given the best circumstances to thrive. He put in some poor showings against the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle, games which Arsenal went onto lose.
All this resulted in the fans and media labeling him an average buy. Although the fans have showed their support and have understood the talent of the Frenchman, the media have never warmed to his talents as a player and rarely give him credit when he puts in a good shift. This lack of credit and recognition means that each team he puts in a “not so good performance”, he is remembered only for that.
We fans who constantly read these articles are thereby influenced by these and often unwittingly form our own opinions on the basis of these articles and let’s face it more often that the media loves cooking up stories about how bad Arsenal is.
Koscielny for me has been a victim of this and if his recent performances are to be taken into account, recent in the sense over the past six to eight months, he definitely is a fantastic defender.
But Koscielny to be honest isn’t the kind of defensive leader in the mould of Thomas Vermaelen. He is the kind of defender who plays superbly when with a quality centre back and his performances with Vermaelen, now Per Mertesacker and previously with a superb Johan Djourou are testimony to this.
Although the performance against Blackburn was a blemish on the record, I would say he has ensured that when Vermaelen does return, the Belgian won’t have a waltz into the side but would instead be pushed to the limit by Koscielny and Mertesacker.
Last season there were several instances that showcased the potential of the Frenchman. It is indeed fitting that his best performance of the season had to come against the best team of the season, Barcelona. Up against the Catalan giants at the Emirates, he held his own against an attack that featured the likes of Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro.
Even against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, he was mammoth at the back as Arsenal won both matches. Yet you wouldn’t have heard him receive credit for his performances.
Even this season although the entire team had a shocker against United, shipping in eight goals, he was the Gunners’ best defender. Save for the Blackburn game he has had some good games against the likes of Newcastle, Udinese, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille and Stoke, all fixtures which could easily have been problematic for the Gunners.
Koscielny has all the traits required to make a top class defender and he has been using his assets to great effect this season.
He isn’t tall like the likes of Vidic, Pique and doesn’t possess the sheer intimidation brought by someone like Samba. Instead what he offers is a rugged determination, a never say die attitude combined with a certain elegance and poise that makes him clean and equally effective.
His two red cards in his first few months of English football earned him a reputation of being a slightly dirty player but in reality he is anything but. Both his red cards weren’t for violet conduct and he was profoundly unlucky for the first one against Liverpool.
His tackling is more often than not spot on and his tackle to deny Aaron Lennon in last season’s Carling Cup is worthy of a watch every time. His pace blessed with a superb tacking ability means that even when behind an opponent he has the required skills to not just catch up but to rectify the situation.
His composure on and off the ball is another bonus and the assured manner with which he brings the ball out of attack is another notable feature of his game. How many times have we seen him start an attack from back with some truly exemplary passing that we would expect only from a midfielder.
Some might say I am getting ahead of myself after a few good performances from the Frenchman but I have been saying for nearly 10 months now that Arsenal have a gem in this player. His last few performances have been exceptionally good. Against Sunderland and Stoke in the EPL and against Marseille in the Champions League, he performed admirably and was hands down the man of the match at France as he put in an inspired defensive performance alongside the ever improving Mertesacker.
Koscielny’s performances have been consistently good for quite some time now. Even towards the end of last season when Arsenal’s defense struggled especially Djourou, it was Koscielny who proved to be a beacon of hope during that time as he put in some unspectacular yet good displays. He put in some remarkable shifts against some of the toughest oppositions he faced as he was instrumental in Arsenals’ wins over Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona.
I have no doubt that had Koscielny come from a big club for a big fee, then he would be praised for every good performance he does. But because he came “only” came from Lorient for a modest fee and since he was an unknown quantity, his quality has been rated solely on the basis of a few patchy performances at the start of his Premier League tenure.
Every time he puts in a fantastic shift, he hardly gets any notice and the game against Marseille was the perfect example. But Arsenal fans have slowly started to realize the talent and potential of this player who along with Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker will play crucial roles in how Arsenal’s season progresses.
And special mention must indeed go to Mertesacker who has filled in superbly for Vermaelen and has ensured that the Belgian hasn’t been missed to the extent many expected. He has played a crucial role in ensuring that the Arsenal defense overcomes their initial bad run of form. He offers a physical presence unlike what the club has had for some time now and despite his height, he oozes composure with the ball in his feet. The initial fears of his lack of pace have so far been proved unwanted and for the first time in several years, Wenger is actually spoilt for choice among three centrebacks, all capable of starting for the Gunners.
Koscielny has shown remarkable fortitude to bounce back from his initial struggles when many wrote him off and it is never easy to perform when people are constantly doubting your abilities and despite the roadblocks in his way, he has overcome many of them and will be looking to build on his good form and go onto establish himself as one of the league’s best defenders.
Mean Lean's Response
Thank you again for another good piece of writing. I am a big fan of Laurent Koscielny and I expect him to be one of the best central defenders in Europe in very little time.
I watched his debut at Barnet and must say I didn't quite see how he would benefit us. He looked slight and a little off the pace but it was the Emirates cup that opened my eyes and ever since then I haven't been able to close them. His timing of the tackle, his tenacious attitude and his distribution of the ball. I was in awe ever since that day.
Many have the perception that he started poorly and then gradually improved, I didn't see it that way. I thought he started very strongly in an Arsenal shirt but just made some crucial errors that cost us goals. He has gradually improved since then and for me has been massively consistent.
Right now Thomas Vermaelen is rightly regarded as our best central defender, mainly because of his leadership skills, his aggression and his presence on the pitch but technically as a defender? I am not so sure. If Koscielny is not already the better defender then he could well get there in a year or two.
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