Arsene Wenger has heaped praise on Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny for the way they bounced back from their part in Arsenal’s League Cup final defeat to Birmingham three years ago.
The pair were involved in an almighty defensive cock-up at Wembley back in 2011 which allowed Obafemi Martins to score a last minute winner but have shaken off doubts about their quality to become integral members of the Gunners title-challenging squad.
Speaking to media ahead of today’s game with Crystal Palace, Wenger stated: “I was thinking about that situation this week. Since that incident in the League Cup final, Koscielny and Szczesny are two of the most improved players. You questioned them but this shows you have to be open-minded.
“Koscielny is one of the best in Premier League, without any hesitation,” he continued.
“He has combination of qualities. Good reading of game, good anticipation, great commitment, great speed and [he is] quick on the turn.
He is good on ball but he has improved a lot in that he now has better control of himself. He is more serene and calm, one of the very best for sure.
“He had a tough spell after [the League Cup final] and last year I took him out of the team for a while. That’s where I give him great credit because he came back in convincing way and took being left out in a positive way.
Admitting that he was under pressure to sign a new goalkeeper in the summer, the boss also underlined why he feels justified in sticking by his young Pole.
“I was questioned on that, especially with Wojciech – there was a pressure there, but he is still very young for a keeper at that level and this season I think he has proven it was the right decision.”
An honest doubt, do they speak in English, Polish or some other language on the pitch?
Poglish
doubt if Kos speaks polish. Might have the blood but i don’t know about his fluency in that language if he can speak it at all.
Clearly he speaks prench. ho ho ho
Swahili. The clicks and the noises confuse the opposition
No clicks in Swahili son. Sorry to be an arsehole couldn’t help myself
Not being an arsehole mate, just deflecting an often repeated racist myth. Good on you.
Is that Zulu then with all the clicks and sounds?
Xhosa, Sotho and Khoisan are the main ones. Very few in Zulu or Sotho. I don’t really think its racist thinking that a language has clicks in it though (Arty)
Hate to be pedantic and boring but Swahili is not a click language. It doesn’t belong to the Khoisan Language family. the distinctive click syllable/sound has influenced and is present in languages such as Xhosa, Zulu, and Sotho in South Africa and Gciriku (Diriku), Yei (Yeye), and Mbukushu in Botswana and Namibia
Don’t forget the master of all clicks, the !Kung lanaguage spoken by the main Khoisan group which is generally or mostly referred to as Bushmen or San people who are mainly found in Namibia, Botswana and SA.
and in second place comes the Bushmen/San people’s closest relatives, the Damara and Nama people of Namibia who speak Damara and Nama language which together is officially referred to as Khoikhoi.
Swahili don’t click you fool
That’s Xhosa my friend; there are no clicks in Swahili
The fact that Kos is keeping TV5 out of the playing 11 speaks volumes.
In fact, he and Per are the first two names on my team list for every game.
Just hope that they go thru the final stages without any injury or suspension issues.
We need all the points to make it this season.
Kos is the boss. He has been immense since that day in Munich.
They’ve been so good, I completely forgot about that Carling Cup Cock Up.
Neither. They just whimper and nod whenever Per points.
Seriously (without knowing for sure), its probably a mix.
English is probably the language ‘glue’ in the squad. Per and Wojciech are both completely fluent and Kos probably has enough English by now to get by, and to be honest the centrebacks should be near the point of telepathy by now.
It would be interesting to see what kind of non-English shortcuts are used as well with Arteta-Santi-Monreal and Gnabry-Özil, Poldi. Could be tactically interesting to call out a move in a language you know the defenders don’t speak.
Dat pic takes me back when koscienly couldn’t help but score some comical own goals. The transformation he has undergone is trully magical. it also helps me now as i have learnt to be more patient with new players. Sanogo being the most recent case here. i hope he comes good.
A nice point herold, sincerely. He has come a long way, always had the raw talent just needed some help honing his abilities, he’s there now and I have no problem stating he is a top 5 CB in the world. Quite possibly would be the second most sought after player on our squad after Özil.
I wonder if winning that carling cup back in 2011 would have changed the way we are now, with Ozil and Kos and nuemerous other changes to the way we operate.
Can’t change the past..but we can win the treble 🙂
You can take a horse to water but a pencil must be lead
Fuck you buddy. Fuck you.
Somebody ask him about Kim!
I thing he just signed him for the Ö.
Both like the Doggy style…
The Kallstrom business is just a load of diaeresis.
I appreciated it.
Speaking of Kallstrom, or rather Källström, Källström, Källström. Here are some letters to help you type out his name: Ää Öö
We done some Russian when Arshavin was about, Come on Arsenal lets smash Palace!!
I did notice in a recent game that mertersacker was giving instructions to gnabry in german
Wish MotD would stop going on about Draxler, we never bid for him. Just trying to spread discontent amongst the uninformed.
Off topic, but can anybody not get to the news section of Arseblog from the main blog anymore?
It only seems to be a problem via iPad. My laptop does it fine.
…….and I have a broken watch that’s right twice a day.
I’m still trying to get my head around the Kallstrom fiasco to listen our manager wax lyrical about two players he managed get right.
How bad can we fuck up a transfer window?
The answer is, we’ve just seen it. Beggars belief.
u know i logged on, thinking i might rant, but i see its biz as usual in here. that said, i’m sick n tired of all the crap so called gunners are saying! havent they learned to trust arsene by now?????!
A return to winning ways this afternoon. these are the match days we could only dream about a point of the leaders in feb. let the press continue their one eyed review. btw kos is immense.