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Arsenal vs Chelsea: Sead Kolasinac crucial counterweight to Eden Hazard
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal will have to contend with the return of Eden Hazard to the Chelsea starting XI, but Sead Kolasinac can play a huge role from the opposite side.
Arsenal will be the first Premier League team to welcome back Eden Hazard to the opposite side of the pitch, and naturally, some people are drumming up his return as a major difference maker in the match that lies ahead.
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Personally, I have always found Hazard to be a bit overrated, since his stats have never amounted to what Alexis Sanchez has done, but for the sake of the argument, I will play nice and say that Hazard is quality.
He can make a difference, and Hector Bellerin will certainly have his hands full dealing with him. And while I do believe that Bellerin can pocket the ghostly Belgian, I will again, for the sake of the argument, concede that everyone else is right, and that Hazard will own that flank with Marcos Alonso.
If that ends up being the case, the next best thing the Gunners can do is look to counterbalance the lopsidedness by creating a little wobble of their own, and they have just the opposite flank to do it, as Sead Kolasinac will be manning the other side.
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In case you haven’t heard/seen, Kolasinac is a badass who cannot be stopped. He is indestructible and as long as he is in the side, I have no fears about the left side of the pitch. So Pedro and Victor Moses look like ants to me.
Kolasinac can own that pitch and to add a little help, he will have the services of either Alexis Sanchez or Danny Welbeck, whoever happens to be on that side at any given time.
No matter which the Bosnian gets, the pairing is going to be amazingly athletic and capable of tending to every aspect of the game. And that is what I call a counterbalance.
We saw Sead Kolasinac do what he does best – succeed – against FC Koln and he will be looking to add to that with a strong outing in a big match, his first as a left back, seeing as how Wenger so wisely (not) sat him at Anfield.
Next: 5 Key Players To Watch vs Chelsea
This is a huge opportunity for Kolasinac to shut any ill-informed doubters up. He belongs where he can shut down the best and the brightest and that just so happens to be right in his kitchen today.