Arsenal: Sead Kolasinac improvement deserves more patience

Sead Kolasinac has been an unexpected star this season, putting his obvious talents to use in a way that we only saw in spurts last season. The Arsenal left-back deserves more patience.

Sead Kolasinac has been an unexpected star this season, putting his obvious talents to use in a way that we only saw in spurts during his first season at the Emirates. Despite his improvement there remain calls from fans to have him replaced, but I think he deserves more credit than that.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Season in review; Summer window looms

Kolasinac is clearly a beast of a man, with wide shoulders, powerful legs and a delightful propensity to barge opponents of the ball. ‘The Hulk’, as he has come to be known, became a fan favourite from his very first weeks at the club and the hype reached almost unbearable levels when he scored against Chelsea in the 2017-18 Community Shield.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Sadly for the Bosnian, though, he struggled to settle in Arsene Wenger’s makeshift defence and began to have his defensive frailties exposed. He also suffered a number of small injuries that prevented him from gaining rhythm and building chemistry with teammates and started this season as the clear number two choice behind Nacho Monreal.

But under Unai Emery, it has been different. Kolasinac has started to show the potential many hoped we would see more often from him during his first campaign. He is surprisingly fast in a straight line, can shoot and cross with power and accuracy, and uses his strength in defensive duels with increasing effect.

In 19 Premier League starts, he has registered five assists. But this only goes some way to illustrating his influence. His relationship with Alex Iwobi has been really promising and Arsenal have even been criticised for an over-reliance on his forward runs.

Kolasinac certainly has areas to improve on, with his passing percentages often falling below what is expected and his defensive frailties leading to Arsenal conceding goals. But given the level of improvement he has made this season defensively and the incredible impact he can make in the final third, it would be a shame to cast him aside.

When he is playing well, I struggle to see how a team with Arsenal’s budget and transfer priorities can find an alternative with the same attacking potency. Certainly, there are better options defensively, but with the continually reliable Monreal looking like he will sign a new deal, I think it is worth seeing how Kolasinac can continue to improve.

With another full summer training under Emery, building his fitness and working on his defensive positioning, who knows how his game will develop.

His form this season has been one of the real surprises and he looks determined to kick on. Let’s not give up on him just yet.