Arsenal vs Leicester City: Sead Kolasinac needs to ruin someone’s day

Arsenal have a decision to make at left wingback for the opening match of the 2017/18 season, but Sead Kolasinac needs to win out.

Arsenal’s abundance of resources is a foreign feeling. Up front, along the back line and beyond, there are so many options for Arsene Wenger to choose between and there isn’t even really a clear cut “right” decision.

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Surprisingly, the wingback situation is not exempt from this decision-making. And it may be the position with the least clear cut “right decision” because all three players bring the same thing, with small differences.

In the FA Community Shield, Wenger went a bit off of expectations and sat Sead Kolasinac, instead opting to start the newly-returned Hector Bellerin on the right and the always-fighting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left.

Both played their roles pretty well, but Bellerin certainly was the lesser of the two, as his deliveries were way off and aside from his blazing speed, there just wasn’t a lot to be excited about.

Whoever it may be that gets replaced doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Sead Kolasinac needs to ruin someone’s day. And I don’t mean a Leicester City ‘someone’s’ day. I mean either Bellerin or Oxlade-Chamberlain, although preferably the former.

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Kolasinac made himself a hero against Chelsea and throughout the preseason, he has shown that he matches the tenacity of Oxlade-Chamberlain, even taking it a step farther, as we saw in his initial assist that sprung from pure effort alone.

In terms of speed, there isn’t a drop off. Sure, he isn’t Bellerin or Ox fast, but he absolutely is not slow and if we want to put our best foot forward on the first match of the season, we need to utilize the guys that bring the most to the table.

And that is Kolasinac.

Bellerin has his speed and he has his dribbling ability, but he doesn’t have that tenacity, nor does he have the physicality. Plus, Kolasinac is a superb threat from set pieces, as we saw against Chelsea.

It won’t be easy to bench Bellerin, but it’s what needs to be done to put our best team out there. The Bosnian was purchased for a reason and it certainly wasn’t to sit on the bench. And while he made plenty of appearances at center back, that isn’t what utilizes him to the best of his abilities.

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Of course, that said, if it comes down to him either sitting or playing center back, I am obviously choosing the latter. Of course, then you have to ask who he replaces and why, so just avoid that and play him where he thrived.