Arsenal: Sead Kolasinac beating out Nacho Monreal a good thing

Arsenal have a left-back problem. Currently, Nacho Monreal is the stop-gap solution. But it would be far better if Sead Kolasinac beat him out.

In the modern game, the full-back position is becoming increasingly important. With the influx of the high press, the demands on the position have intensified no end. They must provide attacking width, not get caught on the counter at the other end, evade pressing wingers, providing a wide outlet for central players to find, and they must, at times, marshall a whole flank almost singlehandedly.

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It is not an enviable task. And the best teams in today’s landscape tend to have the best full backs: Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester City all have excellent full backs. There is a reason Pep Guardiola spent the best part of £150 million on three full backs two summers ago.

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But Arsenal, at left back, especially, do not really have an elite option. They hardly have a good option, in all honesty. Nacho Monreal, who is presumed starter when fit, is a perfectly serviceable left back with smart defensive skills, but his lack of athleticism limits his effectiveness, especially when in one-on-ones, with and without the ball.

His reserve, Sead Kolasinac, on the other hand, has all the physical tools you could possibly want in a bulldozing, bullying full back. He is brutishly powerful, deceptively fast over long distances, and extremely strong. He rarely loses challenges, and if he does, he is more than willing to simply chop through the opposing player like chaff in the wind. Of him and Monreal, he is by far the ‘higher ceiling’ player.

If there is a contest to earn the starting job, and I am not totally convinced that there is one, then it would be far better for Arsenal if Kolasinac wins it. And not just because Monreal loses it, but due to Kolasinac addressing his major weaknesses — his lack of agility and quickness and his dumbfounding decision-making and defensive positioning that often make him look as though he has never played the sport before — and actually proving himself the better player.

I have been extremely critical of Kolasinac in the past, especially when he has played left back. His defensive vulnerabilities have been exposed on a number of occasions, most painfully by Bernardo Silva in a 3-0 loss to Manchester City last season. But it would be foolish to simply disregard the talent. Because there is a player in there. Somewhere.

His offensive production is phenomenal, his athleticism and overall physicality is a breath of fresh air, and he bounds up and down the left flank precisely as a modern full back is required. There are just a few key areas in which he needs to improve.

For Arsenal, it would be better for Kolasinac to win whatever battle there may be between him and Monreal. Age, potential and the evolution of the modern game all suggest that Kolasinac is the more useful player. But he is yet to prove it.