Arsenal vs Liverpool: Sead Kolasinac excuses have run out

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City is tackled by Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium on August 11, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City is tackled by Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium on August 11, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal’s transfer turmoil, if everything goes accordingly, could leave Sead Kolasinac the happiest of all. So why not get started early and unchain him?

We’ve been here before. You’ve heard this from me before. But until this Arsenal starting XI looks the way that it should look, I’ll keep stating the obvious. Unfortunately, with the recent rumors surrounding the club, it may not be so obvious to the one man that makes these decisions after all.

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Sead Kolasinac is being misused. As a centerback, he is completely and utterly caged. Maybe Wenger sees this as a training exercise to get him to defend better. Maybe he’s trying to give him a fresh perspective, but there is no time for that. The Premier League season is under way and our players need to be used to their fullest capacity, which just isn’t happening.

Kolasinac said it himself, when he joined the club, that his best spot was to be played out wide on the left-hand side. Which couldn’t have been more perfect, because Arsenal had moved Nacho Monreal into the back three and Kieran Gibbs was being sold (finally is, I should say).

Kolasinac had the perfect spot to fit into and early in the preseason, he was brilliant out there.

Naturally, though, things are never that easy with Wenger. He has over-thought himself into playing Kolasinac at center back in consecutive games.

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I am happy to write that off as defensive desperation. Even though Per Mertesacker and Calum Chambers are much more viable center backs, Wenger wanted to get Kolasinac out there. Fine. Great. Glad we’ve settled on this.

But there are no more excuses. Shkodran Mustafi is back. Laurent Koscielny is back. The back three sets itself in this match against Liverpool, meaning that Arsene Wenger is going to have to make a difficult decision regarding what to do with the Bosnian tank.

And as much as it pains me to say, I don’t have that much faith in him to make that decision. Especially with the pesky rumors that Mustafi may be facing an exit. If that is the case, and I’m not even joking here, I could see Wenger running with Koscielny, Monreal and Kolasinac in the back three, a decision that would give me indigestion for the rest of the week.

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Kolasinac is a wingback. He’s proven to be a wingback. He’s most effective as a wingback. So play the man as a damn wingback.