Over the last number of days there have been stories linking Arsenal with Bosnian international Sead Kolasinac.
Now, according to a report in the Guardian, the 23 year old has decided to join the Gunners ahead of Everton, who were also interested.
It’s clear that Arsenal have been in the market for a left back for some time, as a host of names have been mentioned over the last 12-18 months.
They include Ricardo Rodgriguez of Wolfsburg, Celtic’s Kieran Tierney and Leicester City youngster Ben Chilwell.
Kieran Gibbs has started just three times in the Premier League this season, and it seems that Arsene Wenger wants some competition for, and a long-term successor to, Spaniard Nacho Monreal.
If this deal does go ahead, it might offer some clues as to who might be in charge next season as it would be odd for a club to sanction a deal from a manager who won’t be around.
Kolasinac would join on a free transfer, having seen out his contract with Schalke.
“If this deal does go ahead, it might offer some clues as to who might be in charge next season as it would be odd for a club to sanction a deal from a manager who won’t be around.”
mmm… is it a Bosnian manager then?
Fuck. Not just the timing of the deal but the fact that its free. Looks like the gunnarsaurus saw his shadow and its 2 more years of Wenger
The wenger who also bought Ozil, Alexis, Santi Carzola, promoted Bellerin, Iwobi you mean?
Ca-zor-la
I can almost say for certain that he’s being bought to be converted to a left sided CB. Because Koscielny is the only CB we have that can play both the left and right side CB positions with no problems. All our other CB’s are not comfortable when they move them. Per can’t play there usually when he’s in the team others who partner him have to move. Mustafi is a right CB and given his style of play which is quite the high risk type of marking similar to Vermaelen he won’t work on the right side CB. Gabriel… Read more »
Nothing would be odd for this club.
Good n terrible news. Good to see a new left back. Terrible that it probably confirms that Wenger is staying.
Does ANYONE seriously think it won’t be Wenger at the helm next season? The club has no leadership, balls or vision. He’s (still) their go-to “football” man.
I seriously think he won’t be here.
Can he rally the team enough to avoid more embarrassing defeats and prevent us from being embarrassed at Wembley? The signs don’t look good and our Board has to wake up eventually.
There is the possibility that this signing’s been sanctioned by the only other person with the authority to do so (Gazidis) and signals some decisions being made for the club and not the manager.
Our only hope is that there’s an undiscovered bollock in the boardroom.
It does not depend on the board or the owner. They already offered him a 2 year contract. It’s up to him to sign it or not. Sure, we can always fire him, but that will be quite expensive.
Board can withdraw it at any time if he hasn’t signed.
If there is a complete relationship breakdown between Wenger and the players then he should be replaced. Otherwise there is no better man to get us back up the table than Wenger. No manager wants to takeover a club not competing in the champions league do they?
(Otherwise there is no better man to get us back up the table than Wenger)
the weakest manager in the Premier League?,
deluded or what
Believing exagerration can be definied as delusion.
I don’t think he will be coaching next season. Why wouldn’t he announce it if he planned to continue next season? The only thing that makes sense is that he plans to step down.
Of course, this ongoing drama over whether or not he will continue does absolutely nothing positive for the club.
If you would have asked this before westbrom I would’ve said Wenger will stay even without the top four. But after humiliating westbrom and palace defeats I seriously think he will not stay. I fail to understand how would he justify his stay. He will be smart enough to know that the entire fans will turn against him. I think he will not , but if he does stay it will be one of the most shamless acts I have ever seen
Look, we’ll probably finish 6th or 7th. It’s not unusual for managers who finish 6th or 7th to keep their job. Are we all disappointed? Sure. But it’s not like we’re Chelsea last year lingering at the bottom most of the year.
how much more lower do you you want to see our at club to realize that wenger isint fit to manage this club anymore. no wonder he is sgining a new deal
Bruce Rioch was sack for finishing 5th, and he signed Bergkamp
I think it’s still all down to the FA cup. Win a trophy n he’ll stay, don’t win and he’ll leave. What I do wonder is how many of the players are actually behind Wenger and willing to put in a performance? Not long ago, players gave up on mourinho to end up with their club getting a new manager that has got them to winning a premier league (almost). I’m not saying any of the players will try to sabotage our games, no hell no. I’m saying that these things do have an unconscious psychological impact whether you like… Read more »
From the way Wenger has simply switched from top 4 is the minimum to “see how great I am for getting us top 4 so many years” it genuinely seems to me he is staying no matter what happens the rest of the year. Our form the 2nd half of the year has been appalling – it’s relegation level results since the end of December. Players have already said they don’t have the desire (Walcott) or the team isn’t well prepared (Liverpool) and that’s hasn’t elicited any kind of statement from the board about time to move on. As long… Read more »
Well, he’s big and supposedly quite a tough player so at least that’s a step in the right direction haha
I don’t think the personnel is the problem. There is enough depth and quality in that squad to challenge for silverware. The blame has to lie with the manager and coaching staff.
“Kolasinac would join on a free transfer, having seen out his contract with Schalke.”
LOL Wenger’s definitely staying haha.
Kolašinac is much better option than the others mentioned in the article.
I am Bosnian myself and well acquainted with his qualities. I’ll be more than happy if we get him. He is pacey, robust and strong as a rock. No pushover and definitely not nice.
The only downside is that he wont make any difference if Arsene stays. Pitty.
I don’t know this player but i like what you’re saying about him. Pacey and robust sounds good to me.
Have a look at this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=58QM7AMNoJ4
that was no more than the usual ball hassle. Jesse ended up being something like 4 months out due to injury. The guy is a rock and makes no compromise which will earn him a few inevitable red cards should he sign for us.
yeah like ‘pacey and robust’ should be minimum requirements. Theo? pacey, not very robust. Giroud? very robust, not very pacey.
if only we had the pacey and robust versions of both those players. yes…i think ‘pacey and robust’ is my new measuring filter for recruits.
joking aside, pretty encouraging report from AFL so the fact that he is also free means he will almost certainly be on wengers radar. great age too – coming into his prime.
Pacey, robust and nasty. All basic traits but we forget another very important one. Good hair! And from the picture it looks like he has that. Get him!
Can he brings his Bosnian brother (Pjanic) with him next season?
Not nice.
I don’t mind. A team needs to have right amount of nastiness to win something.for so long I’ve been watching pur team gets kicked I wouldn’t mind some one who can kick back.
I like it when we have someone with gd knowledge of players to comment. Being from the samw country im sure u know him better than us.if so let’s hope he signs n improves us at LB!
I guess if he comes in we will be saying good bye to Gibbs, which will be a shame as he has always been a professional and not bitched about not playing more often.
Saying that, if Kolasinac is an improvement over Gibbs or Monreal, then it is the right call, and improvement should be the priority, and should have been the strategy for many years.
I am seriously curious as to why a player would make a decision about joining Arsenal now when no one supposedly knows who will be in charge next season…
Well, because Arsenal is one of the top 10 clubs in the world. If it was between us, Schalke and Everton it’s a no-brainer even if Steve Bould was manager next season.
Plus if he or his agent have half a brain they’re saying “monreal’s 31, Gibbs is off to new pastures. You’ll be making the case to be starter in short order”.
The thing about Gibbs from my memory is that he was actually playing well at the beginning of the season. What happened there?
Gibbs is arguably better than Montreal at the moment. I wonder why he isn’t given more chances. Monreal conceded 2-3 penaties this season alone. How much worse can it get.
I think this is a case of ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’.
Every time Gibbs plays he’s off injured afterwards. He’s had a couple of very good games but then he’s injured again. Not sure what’s going on with him to be honest, but maybe we’re offloading some of our permanently injured, which would be a good thing. Sell Gibbs, Ramsey and Wilshere and get players who should be able to contribute to the team for the whole season, must be a step in the right direction, surely. I like Kieren Gibbs but sometimes it’s time to move on.
What a disappointment Gibbs has been. Content to just stroll through his career without pushing himself to be as good as he could be.
For all the abuse thrown at Debuchy on here at least he seemed to care about not playing…
thats’s absolutely ridiculous.
Yes it is!
Why is it ridiculous ? You think it’s ok for Gibbs to be undisputed no.2 for 4 years to a player of similar ability? Or that English peers with less talent (Rose, Bertrand) are now much better players than him ? Gibbs should be at his peak now & yet is no better a player than he was 5 years ago. Being a good pro has got to be more than not complaining about your lot surely ?
I couldn’t agree more. ..
Absolutely, as i said the other day, if Gibbs isn’t desperately pressing to leave he should be sold because he isn’t.
Otherwise he has a absolutely terrible attitude, there’s one thing being back up in a team winning the biggest trophies another at a team that’s drifting.
Atleast wed have every pound left of our “200 million warchest” haha.
Ahhh…The good olde warchest
Wouldn’t be surprised that with our business model…er…I mean “football model”, we aren’t just interested in picking him up on a free & then cashing in on a sale in a couple of years…
Giroud – Alexis
Ozil
Kolasinac – Xhaka – Cazorla – Bellerin
Monreal – Koscielny – Mustafi
Cech
That would me my lineup for next season, but Wenger will probably stick with the same 4-2-3-1 formation and most likely sell Alexis and replace him with Iwobi.
Position that need to be addressed is replacement for Cazorla.
5 defenders in the lineup at arsenal? Dont see it happening im afraid
Kolasinac sounds a good player and if he is free that is better so we still have 200 million to spend. Only problem is we won’t be in the champions league so it may be hard to get really quality players unless they need first team action. I would like to see next season a lot of new faces such as:
Pickford,Bellerin,Mustafi,Konolas,Kolasinac
Walcott,Nzozi,Kessie,Turin,Carracca
Lacazette or Correa up front.
If Wenger stays I hope he does spend money and start really competing for things.
so, out of all the players we have, you want walcott to stay and play for our starting eleven?
You realise bellerin. mustafi and walcott already play for us right??
We could draw up a list of the best defenders in the world. Put them in this Arsenal side, with the tactics employed by Wenger and within a few months people will be saying they are terrible signings. As we’ve seen with the likes of Mustafi, whilst initially looking solid, having been subjected to the atrocious standards by which this team defend after a few months he now looks clueless and a complete waste of money. Whilst this lad may well be solid, in our pathetic system, he will be exposed time and time again. Until Wenger goes, that’s the… Read more »
I think Mustafi’s shit play in 2017 is more a cause of our atrocious standards than a result.
@don – but those same ‘tactics’ had us off to a good start and mustafi was undbeaten for 20 something matches. does wenger get any credit for that?
Yeah a good start because we played lower table teams, from those in the top half of the table in the first half of the season we lost to Liverpool, Lost to Man City, Lost to Everton drew at home to spurs, drew at Man Utd and beat a yet to be properly galvanized Chelsea – congratufuckinlations.
We need a new CB Wenger, ok lets buy a barely six foot right back from one of the least physical leagues in Europe – thats bound to work out alright.
We could sign Messi, Neuer & Ronaldo but with Le Dinosaur in charge,
we’d still be out of the title race by November…………
And we would get knocked out of the Champions League in the Round of 16….sorry I mean Europa League.
Well, this Dinosaur happened to win the title more than once….
You’d have to check the fossil record first
I hope this is a genuine signing rather than some “herp derp, let’s sign someone on a free to please the fans lulz” kind of signing. His stats are better than Monreal’s so it’s reassuring, but it doesn’t mean anything until we have seen him against PL opposition. I hope he’s the Ivanovic kind of fullback for us.
As for Wenger staying or not, this is not the first time that a club has conducted business before the next manager has signed. United and Real Madrid come to mind.
fucking average player, do our scouts even watch games anymore, only signed because it was a free which is basically the same reason as the guy who is his understudy Cohen Bramall. Benjamin Mendy was the man to go for considering how our fullbacks play and the money which we fucking have should now be being spent on decent players like Mendy not skin-flinting on fucking freebies – fucking hate supporting this shite unambitious club. Two left backs signed for nothing instead of paying over the odds for one exceptional left back – thats why we will never achieve anything,… Read more »
I know I have seen Schalke play on television once or twice, so I probably saw Kolasinac, but I cannot tell how good he is. Apparently you watch German football enough to know he is only average, like our other budget signings (Ozil, Sanchez, Mustafi, Xhaka).
no player is without faults . mendy is often accused of being lackluster in defense , even though he is good in attacking . and free doesnt necesserily mean poor quality, the guy definitely ran down his contract even though the club wanted to tie him to a new deal .
I’m glad I’m not the only one who is not impressed by this signing. Mendy was the guy we needed at left back. Mendy and Bellerin on the wings with Xhaka dropping Deep to form a back 3 would’ve been great. This guy is aggressive and can fill in at CB and MAYBE DM. He’s not going to take us to the next level. Juve only considered him as back up to Sandro
Arsenal being cheap as always. Mendy is much better than this guy…he’d cost nothing more than 25m. I haven’t seen much of him, but he’s not that good. Juve wanted him as back up to Alex Sandro. Wenger is staying and as usual being a cheap skate
Sounds good. I look forward to having him galavant to the opponents final third under instructions to abandon our CBs and having him ganged up on by the opponents winger and fullback and left to fend for himself as our defensive structure is nowhere to be seen whilst he pushes forward and sends in crosses after crosses into an empty box before we coach that crossing out of him and ask him to get to the opponents box and proceed to pass the ball back to our CBs for our customary U-Pass slow passing to the other fullback and to… Read more »
If that’s true, I am quite happy. He is a talented player, fast and both good at defending as well as attacking (he currently has 3 goals and 4 assists in the Bundesliga). Schalke usually plays a 3 men defense with him as a left midfielder but sometimes switch to a back 4 with him as left back. There is not much risk of him not fitting into a new managers system and depending on his wages he might be a real bargain. So I don’t think it can be seen as a hint for Arsene staying.
Bosnian on a Bosman?
If he has a bad game, imagine the bad puns… “Awash at Sead!” etc.
Where do fans go to comment please? I took a wrong turn and ended up in the haters section. Young aggressive much needed left back cover for Monreal signs and that is still apparently not good news
I suggest you watch some of Schalke’s games, this guy is not that good but hey he’d be perfect for a mid-table team so maybe Wenger is thinking ahead for the future. When did the Arsenal signing credentials extend only as far as “young” and “aggressive” what ever happened to actual ability and quality – obviously the same criteria they used for Xhaka, can’t run, can’t tackle, can’t stay out of the book or on the field most of the time but yep he’s “young” and “aggressive” so job done i suppose and lets not even start with Mustafi, fucking… Read more »
I don’t think it’s at all cynical to question whether we’re signing the best left back that we can? Or is he just the cheapest? or did we consider Mendy or Rodriguez to be better options? but didn’t fancy competing with certain other sides for their signature? Or are we only willing to compete at a certain level for players? Our two majority owners have a combined net worth of $23 billion USD. We have low net debt, and turnover is sixth highest in world football. He may be a decent player? But virtually everything we do is underwhelming. And… Read more »
There’s plenty of choice out there with regards LBack. Why all the panic just bc the papers seem to suggest one has not materialise. Doesn’t mean there aren’t others.
So easily prey to the media.
Personally I would keep MOnreal for one more season if a new Lback is sign. Gibbs can go.
Bramall should go out on loan and be assessed in a season down.
Nothing to panic about.
Still premature but if true…should be a good signing.
It’s pretty simple. We signed Bramall for chump change in January and now it’s Kolasinac on a free transfer. My guess is Gibbs won’t be offered a new contract this summer. We will either sell him this summer and use that money to bring down our net spend, or Gibbs will see out his contract and move on at the end of next season. It’s also possible Gibbs will stay beyond 2018 and we let Monreal go in 2018. I hope the rationale behind having 3 LB’s is to play them in a back 5. Kolasnic/Gibbs Bellerin Monreal Koscielny Mustafi… Read more »
I am surprised some people actually think Wenger could leave. He wants to stay, and judging by his recent track record, I am not sure many of the top European teams want him anyway. Also the board loves him, they are clueless. They don’t care about the fans or football. All they care about is money. Even if Wenger wanted to leave they would try to keep him. So Wenger wants to stay + Fked and clueless board who wants Wenger to stay = Wenger stays!!! So lets just deal with it and hope for the best, cause we have… Read more »
Chelsea bourght Hazzard when there was no permanent manager, its more frequent than you think.
Once we get rid of our has been tyrant & his yes men coaching staff we can finally move, start fresh and become a modern forward thinkinh club.
New Manager, new staff, new tactics, new motivation & a proper director of football, I can’t wait.
The future is bright, we have to rid ourselves of this obsession with a man five to six years past his best.
Come on you reds!
Would he get into starting 11 for Bayern, Barca, Juve, Chelsea, Athletico, Dortmund, City, Real etc? No is the answer. But will fit right in with our Mediocre team and matches our ambition. Nothing against the lad but this club is just let down after another. There must be 20 better left backs out there but we stoop for the freebie vying with Everton. Says it all.
3-4-1-2 Cech-Mustafi,Koscielny,Monreal-Bellerin,Xhaka,Cazorla,Kolasinac-Ozil-Alexis,Giroud In my opinion for next season. But Wenger will stick with the same 4-2-3-1 formation, probably sell Alexis and replaces him with Iwobi.
Replacement for Cazorla need to be addressed also, because Ramsey, Wilshere, Coq, Elneny.. are not on his level.
Sanchez and Ozil won’t be there next season so you would have to have replacements for them.
Bosnian on a bosman.
This lad looks heavier than Andrew Santos after he was let loose in the Easter Egg aisle of Tesco
“it would be odd for a club to sanction a deal from a manager who won’t be around”
I pretty sure Arsene will still be here next season, regardless though, plenty clubs around Europe buy players without a manager fixed for next season. It would be strange for Arsenal, yes, but not for clubs generally.
Normally when its a player I havent heard of I check out his basic stats on whoscored, a compare with other players in that position. If his stats this season are anything to go by, he is a very very solid player. At 23 there seems to be a lot of potential there, plus its a free transfer! Amazing deal on the face of it, and good luck to him if true! https://www.whoscored.com/Players/110260/Show/Sead-Kolasinac
People keep giving thumbs down to the eleven players I put for next season don’t forget we only have 200 million and no champions league football we won’t attract big names at the club.
Who do you think we can buy and should buy.
We are missing a trick with our unique position in the market. We have an incredible infrastructure, prestige, brand image and finance level but a reality where no real world class footballer in the prime of their career would come here. The answer is simple, stick with the “world class” pursuit of player quality but refocus towards the youth area of the football player market. Build a full world class team of elite young footballers who would want to come because they would actually get consistent starting XI places and who would then stay because we are in a position… Read more »
You do realise that:
Mbappe can choose a better team than us, Asensio is already at Real,Mendy is also going to be expensive, Zouma is not leaving Chelsea, Gimenez is settled at Atletico…..
My pont being we are not that attractive to the best young talents either: Borrusia dortmund and Monaco have locked that down.
I’d still keep Gibbs. Monreal has been piss poor this season, even last season wasn’t that great.
He is going to AC Milan not Arsenal anyway so it doesn’t matter how good or not he is.