Arsenal Vs Bournemouth: Tantalising potential of Sead Kolasinac

Sead Kolasinac was excellent in a wingback role in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth. Is his tantalising attacking potential worth the defensive vulnerabilities?

Prior to Arsenal’s Sunday afternoon trip to the south coast, it was revealed that Nacho Monreal would be set to miss the next two-plus weeks with a continuation of his niggling hamstring injury. The news confirmed that Sead Kolasinac would be the starting left-back in his stead.

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That was a somewhat concerning development. Although Kolasinac offers a great attacking threat when bombarding forward with surging overlapping runs, his defensive shortcomings, in his positioning, lack of balance and agility, and over-eager tackling style consistently undermined his effectiveness.

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To combat this problem, in the 2-1 win over Bournemouth, Unai Emery switched to a 3-4-3 shape, utilising Kolasinac as a wingback, alleviating him of some of the defensive responsibility that comes with the traditional fullback position. And in the left wing-back role, Kolasinac tantalised his offensive firepower with a towering display full of striding runs forward, powerful duels and deceptive artistry in the final third.

Kolasinac recorded two assists on the day, both of a similar variety: a pull-back that was expertly converted by Jefferson Lerma, only that it was into his own goal; a lovely, square ball that cut across the six-yard box and allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to slide home at the back post. These two instances typified his performance. They were not the only times that he was able to get in behind the Bournemouth defence and, for large periods, he was Arsenal’s primary threat.

This is the potential of Kolasinac: a bruising, bulldozing, bulldog-type player who bullies the opposition into submission. But it comes with a caveat. He cannot defend. When played at wingback, that caveat is not as detrimental to the overall shape and effectiveness of the team. But when played at fullback, the opposition can, and will, exploit it, as Wolves did two weeks ago.

At the heart of the issue is Emery’s seeming belief that the 4-2-3-1 shape is the best one for his team. Obviously, that means using Kolasinac as an orthodox left-back. Clearly, there will be problems if that is the case, especially considering Arsenal’s next two league opponents are Spurs and Manchester United.

Kolasinac does have a far higher potential than the reliable but somewhat limited Monreal. Although the dependability and consistency of Monreal is to be celebrated, especially in a squad full of largely volatile performers, if Kolasinac can learn the defensive side of the game and improve on his errors, many of which are mental ones, then surely it makes sense to invest in what he could be, not what he is now.

This is the tension with Kolasinac. He offers such attractive hope, and yet undermines it with such ghastly vulnerability. He illustrated his full potential against Bournemouth on Sunday, but that does not mean he can be relied upon the next time out.