This Arsenal rock can knock Barcelona out of Europe
Most of the talk after Arsenal’s 2-1 victory against Barcelona in the Champions League was about how tired the Catalan giants were and how Arshavin and van Persie were able to punish them towards the end of the match.
However, apart from the goal leaked when Barcelona’s David Villa looked just a little offside, Arsenal were pretty solid and much of that solidity must be handed to Laurent Koscielny. He looked a completely different player during this game, strong, aware of danger and showed little respect to any of the Barca players, in a way, and some will probably choke when then read this, Koscielny reminded me a bit of Tony Adams.
I know what you’re thinking, but Arsenal have received so much stick for their defence over the last few months that a performance like this deserves praise where the defence is concerned, and Koscielny was at the heart of it. Just remember who the Emirates back four were actually having to deal with and it puts the defensive display, and maturity it has to be said, into perspective.
They say that it is defence that wins you the Champions league and if that truly is the case, then Arsenal could be in for a very successful season. Whilst having to play in the Camp Nou for the second leg will be daunting, Koscielny’s display in the first leg will have boosted his confidence remarkably well, well enough in fact for the 25 year old Frenchman to be happy to travel to Spain expecting a clean sheet from his side.
In Thomas Vermaelen’s absence many have been critical of the Frenchman but just think how solid things would look at the back when they are both in the starting eleven. For the long term thinkers amongst you one can also see Arsenal have a platform where the back two are concerned for a long time yet.
