What a pairing Mustafi and Koscielny will be!
Arsenal put in their best efforts as a team today in order to maintain a fantastic run of form, with a spectacular victory over London Rivals Chelsea. The Gunners beat the Blues 3-0, with three first half goals in a dominant performance. Watching Arsenal today was like a blast from the past and although the entire team as a whole should be praised for the collective performance, the pairing at centre back particularly stood out for me.
Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi performed brilliantly on the pitch tonight, both as individuals and as a partnership. They were seen to be strong in the air, quick on the pace and precise with their tackles. The pair worked well together to position themselves correctly against a difficult Diego Costa, who can offer plenty of tactics to get ahead of a defender. The pair were well prepared to get the better of him in the air and on the ground and worked well to team up as a matter of challenging him, rather than leaving one or the other vulnerable to his antics and capabilities.
Let’s not forget that Mustafi was a late signing in the window for Arsenal and so the two haven’t had too much time to get strike up a confident pairing. However from the way they played today, they looked like a partnership that has been strong for years. In fact, I find it a shame that Wenger seems to have found a fantastic partner for the ever consistent Koscienly, who has turned into an absolute world class centre back during his time at Arsenal, relatively late on into the Frenchman’s career. Koscienly has passed thirty now, meaning that over the next few years, it’s likely his capabilities will fall, whilst Mustafi on the other hand is only 24 years old. It’s a shame that we won’t see this partnership last for more than potentially a few more seasons, however lets relish in the present with the fact that these two are performing to the highest calibre, against strong opposition, here and now.
The pair done fantastically to block out the aggressive and in your face Diego Costa, who loves to use his physical strength to dominate his game against the opposition defence. The pair did not get wound up by his antics, as we have seen in previous seasons, nor did either of them pay attention to his frustrations on the pitch.
What a world class performance by the entire Arsenal team today, but specifically well done to our two boys at the back in central defence.
BY AH