One year ago his career was over because of the horrible injury. After twelve months is back to be one of the most important player of the team and is maybe living the best season in his football career.
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I agree.
This has been one of his best seasons and without him in our defence, it would have been more of a shambles than it was.
When your best CB, by some distance, is a crock that has come back from a long term injury, you know things are bad.
Itās a shame Mustafi doesnāt seem to be learning much from playing alongside him.
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If weāre letting either of our experienced CBs go Iād much rather it was Mr. Yellow card every other game in Sokratis.
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Even if the wages are a problem I feel like itās fair to show some loyalty towards him. It shouldnāt always be a financial decision. Get Chambers, Mustafi and possibly Mavropanos off the books.
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Yeah. Iād send Mav out on loan and sell Mustafi and Chambers long before I got rid of Koscielny.
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Koscielny has been our standout defender since he came back from his injury (donāt mention the Southampton game). I donāt think he should be a starter next season but having his pedigree in reserve would be a plus.
But having just looked at our payroll, Koscielny is on 90k so I can see why Sanllehi would want to take his big wages off our books. Cechās 110k, Welbeckās 125k and Ramseyās 120k. So that adds up to around Ā£22m per annum (rough calculations).
I think heās surprised us all with how well heās played since coming back from injury. A lot of us including myself thought heād be finished after that second achilles tendon injury.
Credit to him, he came back not only playing well, but some of the best form weāve seen from him.
I do feel like heās a ticking time bomb now though. All those knocks will be catching up with him sooner or later.
I do hope we give him a good send off when he goes as heās been a good servant and has always put his body on the line for the club, which is all we can ask for.
He doesnāt have to play 35 games per season anymore if we sign another centre back, but can rotate him with the rest.
I really get fed up reading about Sokritis and Holding as some kind of dream partnership. Kosc is the nearest we have to a leader at the back right now. Be very weary of letting him go till we get something in.
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Yep both men have no place in a starting 11 for Arsenal. Theyāre adequate backup options but should not be regular fixtures.
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Lolo should absolutely stay. We need at least 5 defenders. Aināt going through another game with fucking Xhaka at LCB.
Plus, if Saliba comes in then it would be nice to have Lolo take him under his wing.
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Worth keeping him for another year even at 90k a week. Heās (remarkably) still our best defender.
Canāt see us signing a defender who will make the sort of impact Koscielny has on our performances, so itās important to have him as a rotation option at minimum.
Thinking about it, Iād still prefer we start him in all our big games over any of our other defenders. Donāt think his performances will drop off massively next season so long as we donāt over play him.
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Arsenal are in the midst of a rebuilding. The immediate target is continuous CL-qualification. Nobody is saying Sokratis and Holding are a dream partnership, but they are the partnership to go through the next season with. Also because you canāt count on Koscielny fitness-wise. Especially if Arsenal sign an under 23 centre back who needs one or two seasons to develop.
Not sure yet we can rely on Holding fitness wise or consistent levels of performance yet. The Greek steady as long as he doesnt leave the edge of the penalty area.
Anywhere else he wanders its a foul and card. Very average but will acknowledge he stays fit.
Happily say thanks for the memories and sell him this summer
We went into the season with a new look back 4 and Kos completely crocked with no sign of a return. The season ended with him being by far our best defender at the age of 33, playing with 1 leg.
Until this board proves itās worth and is able to bring in solid replacements, he should be kept around. Heās reliable, committed and most importantly one of the very few players who genuinely plays for the badge.
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this would be very sad to see happen, definitely donāt want him sold
Thanks for the memories skipper but its time to go.
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It was a hard watch seeing all that sticking plaster and heart being exposed on the pitch. Its over now mate.
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