Arsenal: Everything You Need To Know About Sead Kolasinac

Arsenal have supposedly agreed to a free transfer for Sead Kolasinac, which is stunningly brilliant, so here is all you need to know about the guy.

Arsenal may have done something amazing and solved one of their biggest problems for free. Left back was growing into an increasingly problematic position and if the rumors are true and Sead Kolasinac is joining the Gunners when his contract expires this summer, then we have so much to be excited about already.

So let’s dig into who this guy is, starting with the quick facts:

Quick facts

Age: 23
Birthday: 20/6/1993
Positions: Left Back, Center Back, Defensive Midfield, Left Midfield, Left Wingback
Nationality: Bosnian
Previous Professional Clubs: Schalke 04

Kolasinac was born in Germany and played his youth career there, but switched to Bosnia, the country of his parents, and received his first international call up in 2013. His father noted that it was always his son’s priority to play for Bosnia.

Kolasinac was first called up to the Schalke 04 senior team in 2012.

Boasting the mantra of being an all-purpose defender, Kolasinac can be deployed across the board defensively. He started out playing mostly center back in his early days at Schalke, but also dabbled in the midfield.

He is an intelligent defender, quick in his decision making and a bonafide professional in his one-on-one encounters with his quick feet and sharp mind.

Along with his stellar intelligence, Kolasinac is also sturdily built. His physical strength led to his initial deployment in the center of the pitch. He does not back down from challenges and is not easy to go to ground.

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It is only recently, this year in fact, that he has shaken off the ‘primarily defensive’ badge and proven that he has just as many capabilities going forward. Schalke now use him primarily on the left hand side, either at fullback or even as a straight midfielder or wingback.

Testament to his athletic ability, these positional changes have done nothing to hinder his strengths and, as mentioned, have brought out his attacking abilities, which were not as prevalent in his early days.

Kolasinac is tied for third on Schalke with three goals and he leads the club with five assists. He has been their top performer on the year overall, but offensively, as far as goal contributions go, he is tied for second.

Defensively, he has been indisputably the best statistically, as no one on the team accounts for more tackles or interceptions than the Bosnian.

Kolsinac is a no-lose addition. He can fix the problems at left back, but he might even offer an intriguing option to pair with Granit Xhaka in the middle of the pitch, as Kolasinac is physically imposing, a workaholic and incredibly athletic.

Next: Arsenal's Potential Starting XI Under Leonardo Jardim

And, if there is a future where Arsenal deploy two wing backs in a three-back formation, you could do far worse than Bellerin and Kolasinac.

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