Arsenal: Risk of Sead Kolasinac mistakes totally worth it

Sead Kolasinac is very hit and miss in his daily dealings, but Arsenal are well-served weathering the mistakes in order to keep the rest.

Arsenal‘s defense has been their primary concern for over a year now, and utilizing someone like Sead Kolasinac is not going to abate those concerns. Not least of all when you see mistakes like what he did against Manchester United. Which… while we’re talking about it, what did he do against Manchester United?

Anyway, Kolasinac is providing in other ways. And he is providing in a big way. Since working his way back into the starting XI, he has led the team in chances created. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a wingback that uses speed and strength so well that he can literally turn the corner on opposing defenses and send in low crosses.

It’s remarkable and it’s a constant threat. A threat that is worth whatever the repercussions are on the other side. Not least of all because it is a back three, which constitutes more freedom for Kolasinac to turn more corners. And as long as he is turning corners, we have a lot to look forward to.

Whatever the defensive mistakes he is making, they are more than made up for. The same can be said of Hector Bellerin on the other side of the pitch – ever the attacker, not often the defender.

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But the thing with Kolasinac is, he has the makeup of a good defender. His primary problem is that he gets so far forward in the attack that it’s often impossible to track back in time. Which, again, is why we don’t mind seeing him out of position, because of what it means on the other end.

More than that though, it’s not like mistakes don’t get ironed out. I think of Granit Xhaka and the mistakes he used to make and how far he has come in three years. The mistakes still pop up every so often, but for the most part, he has become a reliable stalwart in the starting XI.

And Kolasinac has even mentioned how both he, and the team are improving, with one line in particular that I want to highlight:

“…you learn from game to game and become better, and it’s a key to success.”

Which is another reason why we should just grin and bear the mistakes for now – because in time, they will probably weed themselves out.