Why Koscielny’s return is so important to the Arsenal defence

Does Laurent Koscielny’s return make Arsenal defenders better fantasy football picks?

Stat Attack | by Russell Cane

Arsenal concede fewer goals, keep more clean sheets, win more, lose less and register more points when Laurent Koscielny plays, our stats at Oulala.com can reveal.
Ok, it’s hardly a surprise that Arsenal are better with Laurent Koscielny in the side. However if you picked any Arsenal defenders in your fantasy football team this season, you’d have been left disappointed. In their opening two games, they’ve already conceded four goals and failed to keep a clean sheet.
But before you dump Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal or Sead Kolasinac from your side – hold fire!
Laurent Koscielny returns to action this weekend after his three-match ban, with our stats at Oulala.com showing Arsenal are expected to improve significantly with him back in the side.
We’ve taken a look at how Arsenal have performed in the Premier League, dating back to the 2014/15 season, with and without Koscielny and the stats are conclusive, they are far better when he plays.

How do Arsenal fare with and without Laurent Koscielny? 

Since the start of the 2014/15 Premier League campaign, Koscielny has made 93 appearances, while being absent in 23 matches.
Our analysis shows that Arsenal concede an average of 0.97 goals per game with the Frenchman in the side, compared to 1.3 without him.

The Gunners also keep more clean sheets when the defender features. Up from 35 per cent without him to 39 per cent with him.
Our data also shows that Arsenal win more (60%) and lose less (18%) when Koscielny plays. In contrast, their win rate drops to 43 per cent, while their loss rate rises to 30 per cent without him.

Overall, it’s no surprise to see that with Koscielny, Arsenal average more points per game (2) than without him (1.5).

 
When should I expect a fantasy football return from my Arsenal defenders?

Arsenal face Liverpool this weekend and it’s worth noting that they have conceded 10 goals in their last three games against the Reds. So while we advise that you shouldn’t be ditching Arsenal defenders now Laurent Koscielny’s back, it’s probably not the best game to bring them in for either.

However, after the international break; the Gunners face Bournemouth, West Brom and Brighton at home and Watford away in their following five games. You should then see a steady stream of points from the Arsenal defenders you held onto, or if you’re looking for alternatives at the back, it’s the perfect time to start drafting them into your side.

Our stats suggest Arsenal defenders will start to become stronger fantasy football picks after the international break, but are you convinced? Will any make it into your fantasy football team?

If you’re new to Oulala daily fantasy football you can find out more HERE or if you’re ready to pick a team you can register to play HERE

 

Russell Cane

9 Comments

  1. The only Arsenal players I have on my fantasy team are Lacazette and Kolsanic. I didn’t put Alexis because of the uncertainty and he is too expensive. I’ve got 3 Spurs players: Kane, Erickson and Davies

  2. Certainly not sure of strong defence even if Koscielny available because it’s dependent on Wenger’s selection… If he is going to name defense like Koscielny, Monreal and Kolasinac then what’s the use of Koscielny return???
    I don’t believe on Wenger

  3. As long as Monreal, Elneny, and Welbeck are playing and starting we can’t be taken serious and we can’t expect to be a top 4 team. Welbeck career goals 55, Giroud career goals 189…

    1. theyre completely different strikers… in new format Laca is sole striker and Welbeck can sit behind.. once Sanchez is fit he would play not Welbz… Giroud can only play as sole striker… i imagine if Sanchez leavea then maybe just maybe Laca would join Ozil behind Giroud.. thats not why Laca was bought though!!

  4. Kos has been cb for many years now and we have still shipped in many many goals and lost many games because of defensive issues, I don’t see why him coming back is making a difference? If wenger knew how to defend then he would have built a number of defences by now. After the old guard left arsenal basically collapsed. The year newcastle finished 5th they had the best defence in the league I think! With coloccini lol I think benitez is the perfect man to take over from wenger. He’s extremely extremely smart tactically we all know that! He’s got a great style and he does have that little bit of anger and an ego that he shows. He’s the man that can discipline this team and with his rotation policy players will finally begin to feel the pinch of competition for places..Ive been all for rafa for a long time. Look at what he did with newcastle, very quickly he did what was needed signed gayle a premier league proven player and couple of others to pull newcastle back up in a year. Winning two league titles with valencia says it all!!! I’d love to have him at arsenal..

  5. Mustafi, Koscielny, and Monreal (on the left, not the middle!) would be way stronger than last match without a doubt! Or Mustafi, Per, Koscielny. Or even Holding on the right. And Kolasinac at LWB please, quit screwing around with the crazy experiments on the left!

  6. Now is not Cech bad performance the excuse its the defense jajajajaj that’s why this team Arsenal does not win anything.

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