Arsenal legends Paul Merson and Charlie Nicholas say Laurent Koscielny isn’t a leader

Arsenal vice-captain Laurent Koscielny is not a leader, say Paul Merson and Charlie Nicholas.

The France international, who has been wearing the armband in the absence of Per Mertesacker, went off injured in midweek against Bayern Munich. Within seven minutes of him leaving the field early in the second half Arsenal had conceded two goals and eventually lost the Champions League tie 5-1. The series of events appeared to point towards the centre-back’s importance to the team.

 

Arsenal legend Merson believed Wednesday’s loss highlighted a lack of leaders and mental toughness in the Arsenal side.

‘He [Wenger] has bought these players, they’re nice. Bar Alexis Sanchez who’s going to go mental in this team if they lose? That’s a problem,’ said the former midfielder.

‘I do feel sorry for him [Wenger] because these players are leaving him out there to dry when they should be coming out saying “wait a minute, it’s our fault, we’re the ones who capitulated the other day”. They’re the ones that got embarrassed.’

Talking about the loss of Koscielny, Merson said: ‘They all looked lost, it’s not like he’s Beckenbauer. He’s not [legendary Germany defender Franz] Beckenbaur, he’s a centre-half.’

At the suggestion Koscielny is one of the few players in the Arsenal team who could be labelled a leader, Merson scoffed: ‘I’ve never seen him have a go at anybody.’

Nicholas added: ‘I’ve never even seen him point a finger at anybody. The only time I’ve seen him point a finger is when he’s like that [pointing] at the dugout, “I’m injured or I’m coming off”.

Ouch.

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