Arsenal: Laurent Koscielny “beginning” coincides rather well

Arsenal welcomed back Laurent Koscielny against Qarabag, and this “beginning” to his season couldn’t have come at a better time.

Arsenal‘s defense was on the verge of a crisis when Rob Holding was ruled out for the rest of the season. He was the third centerback on a club that needed three at all times to facilitate their best formation, and without him, there were questions.

Not big enough questions to constitute a crisis, because Lichtsteiner and Monreal are perfectly capable defenders, but questions nonetheless.

This was being added to the questions that have already been asked. There’s no hiding that the Gunners’ defense, while improving from last year (hopefully), is still giving up a lot of goals. Huddersfield was their first clean sheet in months, and that comes down to a shaky defense that can’t seem to find its footing, nor do they have any clear, reliable centerpiece.

Not since Laurent Koscielny got hurt, anyway. Captain Koscielny has always been Mr. Reliable on the defense, which is why last year was such a shock. We expected mistakes from Mustafi, but Koscielny was right there with him.

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That was always going to be different under a new manager, and that is the idea behind Unai Emery keeping the captain’s armband with the Frenchman.

We finally saw Koscielny back in action against Qarabag, and he made a very impassioned, “my season starts now!” statement after the match. And he couldn’t be more right. His season, while only half a season, starts right now, and it couldn’t be starting at a better time.

Any other time prior, it might have been less clear how he would factor back into the system, but hand him a starting role and the armband, same as he left it, and someone like Koscielny won’t just take that idly. It will push him to a new level of effectiveness that I believe we are about to see, right in the wake of this budding, miniature “crisis.”

We don’t need Koscielny to be superman. We just need him to be reliable like he has been in so many years past. Just having a reliable member of this defense, especially if Sokratis can continue his steady streak, would work wonders on this team.

The goal for this defense should be to give up less goals than last year. We are cutting it close, but Koscielny could have a big part to play in the culmination of that goal.