Arsenal: What does Kieran Tierney do to Sead Kolasinac?

Sead Kolasinac is about to have some company at leftback in Kieran Tierney, so what’s the best way these two Arsenal men can coexist?

Ever since Sead Kolasinac faced two knife-wielding thugs, I think a lot of us have been a lot more positively inclined towards his continued stay at Arsenal. There were rumors early on that Barcelona may have been interest for a £20m, but it’s looking more and more like he will stay and compete for a spot against Kieran Tierney. Assuming the deal gets done.

I know that many people have soured on Kolasinac’s ability, but I never have. His attacking capabilities make him such a worthwhile component to the club, even if his defensive instincts are still lacking. If he is going to struggle at something, at least he is making up for it with something else.

That said, if we’re going to spend the money on Tierney, we obviously expect him to get the starting job at left back and allow Unai Emery to settle into his preferred back four set, thus rendering Kolasinac a bit of a… surplus.

But that’s okay. Because there will always be opportunity for Kolasinac to make a big impact, and if nothing else, being an impact sub could be an excellent role for him, given how hard of a worker he is and how fierce.

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Introduce that to a match towards the end and defenders will be as mortified as that guy with the knife was. That is Kolasinac’s biggest weapon, that ferocity. It’s hard enough to handle for the full 90, but if you compress it into 20 minutes, you may start to see things panning out even better than expected.

And maybe the back three isn’t dead yet. Maybe there’s still something there worth exploring, especially if injuries become a problem, or as the opposition allows, and that’s another time you need Kolasinac.

Lastly, if you really don’t like what he provides on defense, then a 4-4-2 formation with Kolasinac as a left-sided midfielder isn’t a bad option at all. Like I said, and like we all see, he has tremendous attacking abilities, his delivery is improving, and if he stresses the opponent flank like he did last year, then a lot of his job is already taken care of.

There is room in this town for the two of them. And I can’t see how Kolasinac takes the challenge.