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Arsenal are apparently ready to let Laurent Koscielny start against Qarabag, and while that’s exciting, shouldn’t we be saving him for Southampton?
Arsenal‘s defense is in a bit of a pinch right now, as they are now without Rob Holding for the season and without Mustafi and Sokratis for the Southampton match due to suspensions, plus Mustafi came up lame in his hamstring against Huddersfield, though it doesn’t appear to be too serious.
Nacho Monreal and Lichtsteiner are both back, but both are obviously fullbacks, despite their flexibility in playing left- and right-sided centerbacks in a back three, respectively, at various points this year/in their career.
Right now, the big salvation is Laurent Koscielny. The Arsenal players have been outspoken in their praise of the captain, and they are all quite clearly excited to have him back, but there in lies my big question – why are we looking to bring him back against Qarabag?
Now, let me preface by saying that if the plan is to get him 45 minutes on the first-team pitch and then take him off to save him for Southampton, I totally get it, that makes complete sense and I’m all for it.
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But there has been no indication one way or the other regarding if that is the plan or not. My point is that I hope that the plan isn’t to play him for the full 90 minutes, or even that far past the 45 minute mark, because Koscielny is going to be absolutely needed against Southampton like we’ve never needed him before.
Plus, think of it like this. Koscielny has already been making appearances with the U23 side, getting his feet underneath him. Aside from a few peripheral players – i.e. Cech, Elneny – this match against Qarabag is going to be a U23 match.
Now, it will be at the Emirates in front of a packed house, so that’s important, but what’s more important is that Southampton match at the weekend. So no matter what happens, or what is decided on, everything has to be made with an eye on the Premier League.
Koscielny is going to play a big role in the second half of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him patch the defense up in a big way. That’s why I’m being extra protective of him.
Regardless, I trust in Unai Emery not to be foolish about this. He knows what he is doing.