Arsenal: How do you keep a clean sheet without Laurent Koscielny?

Arsenal aren’t accustomed to clean sheets, let alone several in a row, but Laurent Koscielny has made it easier. What happened against Newcastle, then?

No one came into this season excited about this Arsenal defense. Not a soul. It was all about the attack and scoring more goals than the defense was inevitably going to let in. Everything defense-related was going to have to be put on hold until the 2019 summer and, in the mean time, Sokratis was here to hold us over.

Clean sheets were out of the question. In 2018, our most prestigious clean sheet was the 2-0 win over Watford at the Emirates. Don’t get me wrong, we should be proud of any clean sheet, but the fact that this was the crowning achievement says a lot.

Laurent Koscielny returned in mid-December and while he was on the back line for the embarrassment at Anfield, he was only just getting his feet back underneath him and, to be fair, the whole team failed in that one, not just him.

Things are changing, and they are changing pretty conclusively – mainly when Laurent Koscielny is involved. With him in the back line as the captain, the Gunners have secured demonstrative clean sheets against both Chelsea and Manchester United.

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And after Manchester United, Koscielny anchored the team to a clutch 3-0 win over Rennes that can’t be understated.

The defense was improving by leaps and bounds and it was so easy to see why, with Koscielny coming back and, all of a sudden, it looked like clean sheets weren’t just a lucky break, but well-deserved. Earned.

Against Newcastle, Laurent Koscielny was out with a minor injury, and in his stead stepped the hodgepodge back three of Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis and Nacho Monreal. The same cast and crew that have surrendered so many annoying goals that prevented clean sheets from happening.

Koscielny was the guy who made Sokratis’s value so obvious, he’s the guy who’s been cleaning up after Mustafi, he’s just been the guy, so count me as a bit surprised that, against Newcastle, there was next to no trouble facing Bernd Leno, who came off looking rather bored on the night.

Maybe it’s more than just Koscielny. Maybe it’s a change in philosophy, but there was an evident confidence on that back line Monday night and they did it all without Koscielny in their midst. I’d call that something special and worth celebrating.