Arsenal: No one does what Sead Kolasinac does

Arsenal welcomed Sead Kolasinac back to the fold against Burnley and he’s starting to establish just how special and unique of a player he is.

Arsenal were able to get back on the right track with a needed win against Burnley, but, while the win looked cushy, there were still times of severe anxiety. Those times were typically characterized by a lack of taking charge, a lack of reliability, and number of other “lacks.”

One man that wasn’t lacking, in any way shape or form, was the man of the match, Sead Kolasinac. The Bosnian tank was his usual self against Burnley, despite having to play as a fullback, rather than a wingback, and it’s safe to say that what we have in Sead Kolasinac, we don’t have in anyone else.

That is, there are a couple things, but there is one thing in particular that stands up against anything else, and that is his unique ability to get in behind the defense. To just circumnavigate them as if they weren’t even there.

Whether through strength, speed, or both, Kolasinac has that insane ability to turn the corner, which is something I’ve been highlighting more than a little over the past month or so since his return.

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The crazy thing about it is that, it’s no fluke. He legitimately has this skill in his repertoire, to beat opposing players to the ball, beat them to the line, and beat them into the box.

What it translates to is a source of consistent threat, and consistent chances created. Which is something we can’t get out of Ozil, Mkhitaryan, or any of our other players whose primary job it is to create chances.

No, the primary chance creator on this team is still Sead Kolasinac, even in spite of the return of Mkhitaryan, and the burst back onto the scene of Ozil. It still falls on the big tank to be our most reliable font of attacking threat.

Which is what makes what I’m saying true – that there is no one else on the team like him. Because no one else on the team can be counted on to constantly put the opposing defense under siege, even though he is technically a defender himself.

The only question is if he can stay healthy. Because we have become so dependent on his ability to do what he does on that left hand side that I’m honestly a bit scared as to what might happen if he finds himself unable to play.