Arsenal: Who Starts Alongside Laurent Koscielny?

With the Summer flying by, the start of the new season is racing towards us. One major concern for Arsenal is at center half, leading to the question; who plays alongside Laurent Koscielny?

For many years, Arsenal have had a pair of center halves that, if fit, have played every game without fail. The two have created a solid partnership on the field, as well as a trust and respect off of it. However, that long term partnership is set to expire, having hit stormy waters in recent times.

The pair I am referring to is obviously Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. The two have marshalled Arsenal’s defense well over the past few seasons, but with age, injuries and poor form beginning to catch up with at least one of them, Arsenal are looking at an uncertain future in the center of their defense.

Of the two, it has been Per Mertesacker who has begun to struggle more. His lack of pace in particular has often been a cause for concern, and as he has progressed past 30, his poor athleticism is very much becoming a major issue for Arsenal’s defensive shape.

Koscielny, himself, however, struggled with fitness concerns this past year, and while he certainly is a more accomplished defender than his counterpart, if he’s on the injury table more than the pitch, then that’s not too much help to the team.

Heading into next season, though, Koscielny will resume his role as one of the starting center backs. However, Mertesacker’s Arsenal future is shrouded in doubt, and it leads to the question who will start next season alongside the French international?

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The player who is most likely to derail the Mertescielny relationship is Gabriel Paulista. The former Villareal defender was signed 18 months ago and has yet to force his way into the starting eleven. However, towards the back end of last year, Gabriel did earn more playing time and was beginning to learn and adapt his game to playing with Koscielny.

Both players are aggressive in nature, they like to win the ball back high up the pitch rather than sit and contain. There is nothing wrong with such a style but they certainly do not complement one another. The high risk strategy can become a problem if both center halves are playing the same way.

With Mertesacker struggling with age and form, and Gabriel having stylistic issues, it could well force Arsene Wenger into the transfer market to find Koscielny’s partner. That is a risky strategy, especially at a position of such importance where having a strong understanding of one another’s games – which can only come by playing extensively with each other. There are, though, options out there. Players like John Stones, Laporte and Murillo have all been linked to the Gunners in the past month.

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Whether Wenger decides to stick with the tried and tested Mertesacker, risk it with Gabriel to try his hand at bringing in external help remains to be seen. Whatever the case, Koscielny’s partner is an issue for this Arsenal team, and it is one that needs to be solved this Summer.

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