Arsenal: If you thought Laurent Koscielny was crucial against Watford…

Arsenal go into Naples with a task on the table, and few are more important to that task than Laurent Koscieln, who’s responsibilities are multiplied.

It feels nice to have a defender that we can point to and say, “I trust him.” Seriously, it sounds dumb, but for Arsenal, this is a real thing. Laurent Koscielny has been that guy for years, even if he shook that trust a little bit going back to last year, before the injury, when he struggled to anchor the defense next to Shkodran Mustafi.

That can all be forgiven when you look at what he’s done this year. While in and of himself, he’s not enough to turn the defense around and give them the solidity that they need, having a true partner like Sokratis, who can be trusted just as much, is enough.

Against Watford, Koscielny was huge. He knew that he was physically outmatched, but he used his supreme instincts and intelligence as a defender to anchor our first clean sheet away from home, and it couldn’t have come at a bigger time.

That said, if you thought he was massive against Watford, he needs to be doubly so against Napoli to defend a two goal lead and see this vital tie to a happy ending.

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The good news about this is that Napoli shape up completely different than Watford. Whereas the Hornets pride themselves on being bigger and nastier than all the rest, Napoli are a different kind of club. They thrive on speed, creativity and team goals, and only really have Arek Milik as a physical threat up top.

Let Sokratis deal with him, if he starts, and let Koscielny deal with the rest. Because this is Koscielny’s sweet spot, having to snuff out passing lanes and team attacking plays and making the intelligent positional decision. That’s what he does. And thus, asking him to do it again against Napoli isn’t the kind of thing that is too big of an ask.

That said, the pressure will obviously be on. He’ll have to be dialed in for the entirety of the match because he’s the captain and he’s the centerpiece. One slip-up can be the difference between a conclusive final whistle and having to take the tie into extra time.

Thankfully, as mentioned, who would you rather be in charge of this kind of responsibility than Laurent Koscielny? My list is empty.