Arsenal: Sead Kolasinac beckons in changing era

Sead Kolasinac was excellent in Arsenal’s Community Shield win over Chelsea. Such is the physicality and the energy that he plays with, he beckons a changing era from the usual players that Arsene Wenger signs.

While the significance of the Community Shield may be doubted — justifiably so, in my opinion — in Arsenal’s win penalty shootout win over Chelsea on Sunday thanks to a Thibault Courtois mishap and a confident Olivier Giroud, there was no lack of competitive fire. This was a game that both players wanted to win and were prepared to fight for.

No one was more willing to battle than substitute Sead Kolasinac. Introduced for a bloodied Per Mertesacker who was struck by an inadvertent Gary Cahill elbow to the face, Kolasinac proceeded to play like a marauding bull, dominating every tackle, flying into every challenge, bulldozing his way past players in a furore of flailing arms and bustling chest muscles.

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The Bosnian international was excellent. He also scored the equalising goal, guiding a header from Granit Xhaka’s wonderfully delivered deep free kick back across the goal, nestling past Thibault Courtois in the bottom corner. But more than scoring, Kolasinac defended with a real industry and effort and drove forward with the ball at his feet with power and force.

Kolasinac is a player who wins via his strength and his power, not an exquisite touch or ingenious creativity or telescopic passing or deciphering reading of the game. It is not that he does not possess such attributes, but simply that his main asset, his main method of success is to bully his way there.

That is very peculiar for an Arsene Wenger player. Wenger has always pursued the slighter, more technical players, who want to play out from the back no matter the risk, players who keep the ball on the floor and look to play neat, attractive football, rather than overpower their way through opponents.

The free-agent addition of Kolasinac perhaps suggests a changing Wenger, a Wenger who is willing to broaden his horizons, even after 20 stubborn years in charge, a Wenger who is wanting to balance his side with the brawn and not just the beauty, a Wenger who acknowledges the need for the strong and the athletic, as well as the neat and the tidy.

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Kolasinac is a far from a normal Wenger signing. And that is why he is such an exciting and intriguing addition. It may well be the case that his acquisition suggests that Wenger is changing, and from early indications, it’s a change for the better.

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