Arsenal Vs Chelsea: Combined Starting Eleven

Laurent Koscielny

No one tops Bosscielny. I am of the same mind as Rio Ferdinand in his claim that Koscielny is the best center back in England. He was wanted by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, after all. Which means that for every time I could feasibly skip over Bellerin’s untouchable position at right back, I could do the same for Koscielny.

The Boss was an immediate boost to this Arsenal defense when he returned from his break. With Chambers and Holding, the defense was a mess and they surrendered four goals to a very newly-put-together Liverpool team.

Insert Koscielny the next week and suddenly the Gunner’s completely shut down the defending champs in their own den. There is no mistaking what is to be credited for the shift – it’s the Frenchman, and I don’t mean Yaya Sanogo.

Laurent Koscielny is the gift that keeps on giving. Truly one of the best signings of his era. And that is by no means an exaggeration.

Side note: Keep David Luiz away from any defense I’m putting together.