Arsenal Vs Rennes: The Sead Kolasinac risk

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Fulham FC at Emirates Stadium on January 1, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Fulham FC at Emirates Stadium on January 1, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

In Thursday night’s second leg against Rennes in the Europa League Round of 16, Arsenal will have to chase the game. Does that mean they commit to the Sead Kolasinac risk at left-back?

After the capitulation in the first leg on the Round of 16 Europa League tie against French side Rennes, Arsenal will be forced to chase the game in Thursday night’s second leg. The 3-1 deficit is not an insurmountable mountain to climb. Juventus have already overhauled a 2-0 away loss this week. But it is no easy feat either.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Rubbish Rennes, Article of the Week

And Unai Emery may have to adjust his tactics as a result of knowing what his team requires to secure qualification into the quarter-finals. Thanks to the away goal, a 2-0 victory would be sufficient to see the Gunners through. But given the threat Rennes pose on the counter-attack, it would be surprising if they did not score at least one.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

In the end, however many Rennes score at one end, Arsenal must find a whole host of goals at the other, most likely three. Emery will obviously understand this attacking requirement and will have some difficult tactical and selection decisions to make because of this. One position where this is most pertinent is left-back, where the best offensive-minded player has been a defensive liability and is seemingly untrusted by Emery.

Sead Kolasinac has proven himself to be a brilliant attacking full-back. His bludgeoning runs to the by-line allied with an unexpected finesse and accuracy in his delivery have seen him develop into of the primary creators in the squad. Of players who have played more than 1000 Premier League minutes, only Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey have created more chances per 90 minutes.

In terms of assists, just Alexandre Lacazette and Ramsey have more than Kolasinac. And in the Premier League as a whole, he has more assists per 90 minutes and the second-most chances created per 90 minutes, excluding players that have featured in fewer than 1000 minutes.

It makes sense to feature a player of this creativity in a match that Arsenal must score plentifully, right? The problem, however, is how much Emery wants to risk the defensive security at the other end. Should he play with a back four and traditional full-back positions, Kolasinac would face Ismaila Sarr, the undoubted key threat of Rennes on the break. How much do you want him marauding forward with Sarr waiting to pounce?

Perhaps, then a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation might work better, as Emery utilised against Manchester United at the weekend, with Kolasinac pushed into a wing-back role. But then is the third centre-back not a waste with the chance to play Kolasinac at full-back and a winger in front of him?

Really, no one knows what Emery will be thinking. But one thing that is clear is that he has options. And how he manages those options, particularly Kolasinac, will be fascinating. How much does he want to risk it? We will find out in due course.