Throughout his 14 year stay at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger has proved that when it comes to spotting talent, there are few who can match him.
For several seasons now Wenger has made it a habit to sign virtually unknown players and convert them into match winners. There have been several players like Kolo Toure, Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Freddy Ljungberg.
These are just few of the players. Over the years Wenger has signed many such talented but young and unheard of players and have molded them into top quality players.
The last 2 years have been no different either. Last year Wenger signed Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax for 10 million as a replacement for the departing Kolo Toure. Kolo Toure was a hugely popular and extremely successful defender for Arsenal who had put in great performances for Arsenal and was hugely committed to the Arsenal cause.
Yet following Vermaelen’s signing, all fans were left asking the same question: Toure who??
Vermaelen was an absolute revelation for the Gunners in his first season. He was an absolute beast at the back and even scored several memorable goals upfront. He formed a solid partnership with Gallas at the back and proved to be one of the top signings of the season.
He was experienced at the top level and had an immediate impact with the fans, so much so that they gave him the nickname,’ Verminator’. He also scored an extremely impressive 8 goals in his first season.
This year following the departure of William Gallas, Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre, Arsene Wenger was once again forced to enter into the market to sign a centre back.
During the summer transfer window, he signed 2 centre backs, Sebastian Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny from Lorient for a fee in the region of 10million. It is Koscielny who has made a much more positive impact and is really establishing himself as one of Arsenal’s top defenders.
Initially Koscielny struggled and found it difficult to adjust to the pace and rigors of the Premier League. However it would have been ridiculous to expect Koscielny to have the same impact as Vermaelen.
Vermaelen had played his entire career in the Dutch top flight and was even the captain for Ajax. Koscielny on the other hand had just played one season in the French top flight and had spent the rest of his career in the second division of the French league.
He lacked the experience initially and he too admitted that he had lots to learn.
Koscielny struggled initially and at one point it looked like Wenger made a big mistake by signing the young defender.
He was sent off in his first match against Liverpool although the decision was harsh. In his second start of the season he was outmuscled by Diouf for the Blackburn goal and was to blame for Blackburn’s goal.
In his next match he scored his first goal for the Gunners against Bolton. But at the stroke of half-time he made a poor pass to Almunia that resulted in Bolton’s goal.
Following that he had a decent game against Chelsea but later was injured and missed 3 Premier League clashes.
In his first match after his return he had a torrid game as he lost Carroll for Newcastle’s only goal and get sent off.
After serving his two-match suspension he returned for the North-London derby against Tottenham. Once again he had a bad game as he missed an easy goal and was to blame for Tottenham’s winner.
But since then he has gone from strength to strength and has established himself as Arsenal’s first choice centre back along with Djourou in the absence of Vermaelen.
He has started to show signs of the potential that made Wenger shell out 10 million for his transfer. He is a great header of the ball and has a great leap. He is deceptively quick and often uses his great speed to good use. A look at the tackle he made against Lennon in the Carling Cup is the perfect indicator of his speed.
Not only that he is fairly strong and is extremely calm and composed with the ball in his feet. In the big matches against Chelsea and Manchester United he has put in solid displays. In both fixtures against Chelsea he put in good showings against Drogba and gave the striker a run for his money. Against Manchester United, he showed his physical side as he stood strong and resolute against Rooney and put in great aerial displays.
His anticipation is another of his big assets and he has made several crucial interceptions and tackles. Off late especially with Djourou as his partner he is putting in great displays and the 2 of them have conceded just 1 goal this year which happened to be offside.
He has also made it a habit to score late and crucial goals for the Gunners as he displayed on Tuesday night as he scored the winner against Everton to allow Arsenal to keep pace with league leaders Manchester United. He has scored 3 goals this season including one against Ipswich in the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final that gave Arsenal some breathing space.
Following his initial struggles several fans thought that Wenger had made a big mistake by signing him and not going for someone more experienced. But he Wenger decided to stick by the youngster and is now reaping the rewards.
He has vindicated Wenger’s belief in him and is now establishing himself as an extremely solid and able defender.
Koscielny has showed great mental strength to bounce back from his initial hiccups and has put his mistakes behind him.
Koscielny is an extremely talented defender and if he keeps up his performances, who knows he may just be the new Tony Adams!!
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