Laurent Koscielny ~ Lolo

[Va-Va-Voom]

Mertesacker's pace is making Kos look bad coupled with Wenger's high line.
Wenger is not even hiding his team's weakness anymore.

Imagine a Mertesacker/Chambers pairing...

[S&W the no1Fan]

Wtaf? Thread is about the wrong CB imo

+1

Not that either need 'stick'

Mertesacker defo needs stick. Slow f**ker makes Kos look bad because he has to cover both their asses.

yup kos' poor positioning has nothing to do with him needing to cover 'mertesacker'

i guess hugging the touchline for aubameyangs goal and then sprinting desperately back in the center was kos 'covering mertesacker again'

Kos makes mistakes. The issue here is that it seems Kos gets more stick than Mertesacker and IMO it should be the other way round.

http://hoofoot.com/?match=Borussia_Dort ... 2014_09_16

3:12 - easily could have been a goal because Mertesacker was caught napping and didn't have enough pace to recover

yup per was at fault there

6:13 (the second goal) - Kos was keeping a close eye on the Dortmund player that was wide open down our left hand side. Aubameyang actually took the ball down closer to Merts and had Mertesacker been quick enough he could have prevented the goal himself. How is it that Mertesacker was closer to goal but it was Kos that nearly preveted the goal. Koscielny shouldn't be babysitting all our defenders

Koscielny was at fault here that's why he nearly prevented the goal instead of preventing it. Kos should never be marking a player that tightly on the left side of the pitch when the ball is on the right side. Cbs should never have a gap of more than 10-15 yards between them at the most. If kps had positioned himself correctly he wouldnt need to scramble he babysat no one, he switched off and tried to make amends.

8:34 - Notice how Mertesacker is just jogging back. Had Mkhitaryan cut the ball across goal instead of taking the shot that easily could have been another goal conceded

per hasnt got pace no one is saying he does, but notice how the only time during that counter where we could have quelled that counter attack kos messes up the tackle and gives it back to dortmund. Kos could have dealt with that but he didnt and instead somehow per is to blame because he couldnt run quickly?
9:24 - Notice how Mertesacker lets the Dortmund player just run in on goal. Why not get in front of him early and force him to play a pass out wide. Luckily for us, the Dortmund player didn't take his shot earlier

ox had the armenian (cant spell his name lol) and per was blocking the pass out wide he cant do both. If he commited to the armenian there would have been acres of space to his right uncontested, ox was at least recovering through the center. Kos was doing the exact same thing on his side, the difference is gibbs had recovered whilst on pers side there was no one to be seen. Kos should have closed the gap but he was ball watching and wasnt aware of his other defenders.

[greengoonerie]

Per is an appalling defender at teh moment.

Koc is spending more and more of his time, covering for his completely unfit team-mate.

Whilst I would agree that Koc could/should have done more for the 1st goal (make a challenge, or get closer to the guy at least), Merts was shameful for the 2nd against Dortmund.

Merts wouldn't get into any of Europes top 20 teams at the moment IMO, such is his lack of fitness.

That said, the new Polish clown (Szec) didn't do himself any favours for the 2nd goal - WTF....

[CrimsonGunner11]

Wtaf? Thread is about the wrong CB imo

+1

Not that either need 'stick'

Mertesacker defo needs stick. Slow f**ker makes Kos look bad because he has to cover both their asses.

yup kos' poor positioning has nothing to do with him needing to cover 'mertesacker'

i guess hugging the touchline for aubameyangs goal and then sprinting desperately back in the center was kos 'covering mertesacker again'

Kos makes mistakes. The issue here is that it seems Kos gets more stick than Mertesacker and IMO it should be the other way round.

http://hoofoot.com/?match=Borussia_Dort ... 2014_09_16

3:12 - easily could have been a goal because Mertesacker was caught napping and didn't have enough pace to recover

yup per was at fault there

6:13 (the second goal) - Kos was keeping a close eye on the Dortmund player that was wide open down our left hand side. Aubameyang actually took the ball down closer to Merts and had Mertesacker been quick enough he could have prevented the goal himself. How is it that Mertesacker was closer to goal but it was Kos that nearly preveted the goal. Koscielny shouldn't be babysitting all our defenders

Koscielny was at fault here that's why he nearly prevented the goal instead of preventing it. Kos should never be marking a player that tightly on the left side of the pitch when the ball is on the right side. Cbs should never have a gap of more than 10-15 yards between them at the most. If kps had positioned himself correctly he wouldnt need to scramble he babysat no one, he switched off and tried to make amends.

8:34 - Notice how Mertesacker is just jogging back. Had Mkhitaryan cut the ball across goal instead of taking the shot that easily could have been another goal conceded

per hasnt got pace no one is saying he does, but notice how the only time during that counter where we could have quelled that counter attack kos messes up the tackle and gives it back to dortmund. Kos could have dealt with that but he didnt and instead somehow per is to blame because he couldnt run quickly?
9:24 - Notice how Mertesacker lets the Dortmund player just run in on goal. Why not get in front of him early and force him to play a pass out wide. Luckily for us, the Dortmund player didn't take his shot earlier

ox had the armenian (cant spell his name lol) and per was blocking the pass out wide he cant do both. If he commited to the armenian there would have been acres of space to his right uncontested, ox was at least recovering through the center. Kos was doing the exact same thing on his side, the difference is gibbs had recovered whilst on pers side there was no one to be seen. Kos should have closed the gap but he was ball watching and wasnt aware of his other defenders.

2nd point - Even if Kos was poorly positioned why can't Mertesacker cover Koscielny for once. There were no other Dortmund player to mark besides Aubameyang so why couldn't Mertesacker track the runner better. The move started in midfield so he had plenty of time to adjust himself and make sure that no one got in behind him

3rd point - Not blaming Mertesacker here just pointing out how is lack of pace can cost us. Arteta's to blame and it's Kos left yet again to bail everyone else out. Had the ball came across goal Mertesacker would have had no chance of preventing the goal but if Kos and Merts had switched positions at least Kos would have had a good chance at preventing the goal. Need to point out as well that Gibbs needs to take some of the blame as well. Had he been more aware and noticed that the counter was on he would have been in a better position to receive the rebound or at least stop the Dortmund player from running in behind Kos.

4th point - Fair enough but I don't think Kos could have closed the gap as Gibbs was on the wrong side of the Dortmund player behind Koscielny. I still think forcing the Dortmund player to play the pass out wide would have been better. The angle would have been narrower for a shot and if a cross was to come in all our players would have already been back in the box. What Mertesacker did by allowing the Dortmund player to get into the box gave the Dortmund player the entire goal to aim at. Had the Dortmund player taken his shot earlier (i.e. right when he entered the box) that probably would have been another goal conceded

[Jelly123]

Wtaf? Thread is about the wrong CB imo

+1

Not that either need 'stick'

Mertesacker defo needs stick. Slow f**ker makes Kos look bad because he has to cover both their asses.

yup kos' poor positioning has nothing to do with him needing to cover 'mertesacker'

i guess hugging the touchline for aubameyangs goal and then sprinting desperately back in the center was kos 'covering mertesacker again'

Kos makes mistakes. The issue here is that it seems Kos gets more stick than Mertesacker and IMO it should be the other way round.

http://hoofoot.com/?match=Borussia_Dort ... 2014_09_16

3:12 - easily could have been a goal because Mertesacker was caught napping and didn't have enough pace to recover

yup per was at fault there

6:13 (the second goal) - Kos was keeping a close eye on the Dortmund player that was wide open down our left hand side. Aubameyang actually took the ball down closer to Merts and had Mertesacker been quick enough he could have prevented the goal himself. How is it that Mertesacker was closer to goal but it was Kos that nearly preveted the goal. Koscielny shouldn't be babysitting all our defenders

Koscielny was at fault here that's why he nearly prevented the goal instead of preventing it. Kos should never be marking a player that tightly on the left side of the pitch when the ball is on the right side. Cbs should never have a gap of more than 10-15 yards between them at the most. If kps had positioned himself correctly he wouldnt need to scramble he babysat no one, he switched off and tried to make amends.

8:34 - Notice how Mertesacker is just jogging back. Had Mkhitaryan cut the ball across goal instead of taking the shot that easily could have been another goal conceded

per hasnt got pace no one is saying he does, but notice how the only time during that counter where we could have quelled that counter attack kos messes up the tackle and gives it back to dortmund. Kos could have dealt with that but he didnt and instead somehow per is to blame because he couldnt run quickly?
9:24 - Notice how Mertesacker lets the Dortmund player just run in on goal. Why not get in front of him early and force him to play a pass out wide. Luckily for us, the Dortmund player didn't take his shot earlier

ox had the armenian (cant spell his name lol) and per was blocking the pass out wide he cant do both. If he commited to the armenian there would have been acres of space to his right uncontested, ox was at least recovering through the center. Kos was doing the exact same thing on his side, the difference is gibbs had recovered whilst on pers side there was no one to be seen. Kos should have closed the gap but he was ball watching and wasnt aware of his other defenders.

2nd point - Even if Kos was poorly positioned why can't Mertesacker cover Koscielny for once. There were no other Dortmund player to mark besides Aubameyang so why couldn't Mertesacker track the runner better. The move started in midfield so he had plenty of time to adjust himself and make sure that no one got in behind him

3rd point - Not blaming Mertesacker here just pointing out how is lack of pace can cost us. Arteta's to blame and it's Kos left yet again to bail everyone else out. Had the ball came across goal Mertesacker would have had no chance of preventing the goal but if Kos and Merts had switched positions at least Kos would have had a good chance at preventing the goal. Need to point out as well that Gibbs needs to take some of the blame as well. Had he been more aware and noticed that the counter was on he would have been in a better position to receive the rebound or at least stop the Dortmund player from running in behind Kos.

4th point - Fair enough but I don't think Kos could have closed the gap as Gibbs was on the wrong side of the Dortmund player behind Koscielny. I still think forcing the Dortmund player to play the pass out wide would have been better. The angle would have been narrower for a shot and if a cross was to come in all our players would have already been back in the box. What Mertesacker did by allowing the Dortmund player to get into the box gave the Dortmund player the entire goal to aim at. Had the Dortmund player taken his shot earlier (i.e. right when he entered the box) that probably would have been another goal conceded

Think we're just gonna have to let him vent mate. He's decided Kos is suddenly in the wrong for everything, even when that is clearly not the case and will only see evidence to condemn Kos rather than support him. We'll hopefully win at villa by a few goals and everything will be forgotten. That being said, if Kos genuinely does make a mistake for a goal or we dont win, this thread will become even more tedious

[S&W the no1Fan]

Wtaf? Thread is about the wrong CB imo

+1

Not that either need 'stick'

Mertesacker defo needs stick. Slow f**ker makes Kos look bad because he has to cover both their asses.

yup kos' poor positioning has nothing to do with him needing to cover 'mertesacker'

i guess hugging the touchline for aubameyangs goal and then sprinting desperately back in the center was kos 'covering mertesacker again'

Kos makes mistakes. The issue here is that it seems Kos gets more stick than Mertesacker and IMO it should be the other way round.

http://hoofoot.com/?match=Borussia_Dort ... 2014_09_16

3:12 - easily could have been a goal because Mertesacker was caught napping and didn't have enough pace to recover

yup per was at fault there

6:13 (the second goal) - Kos was keeping a close eye on the Dortmund player that was wide open down our left hand side. Aubameyang actually took the ball down closer to Merts and had Mertesacker been quick enough he could have prevented the goal himself. How is it that Mertesacker was closer to goal but it was Kos that nearly preveted the goal. Koscielny shouldn't be babysitting all our defenders

Koscielny was at fault here that's why he nearly prevented the goal instead of preventing it. Kos should never be marking a player that tightly on the left side of the pitch when the ball is on the right side. Cbs should never have a gap of more than 10-15 yards between them at the most. If kps had positioned himself correctly he wouldnt need to scramble he babysat no one, he switched off and tried to make amends.

8:34 - Notice how Mertesacker is just jogging back. Had Mkhitaryan cut the ball across goal instead of taking the shot that easily could have been another goal conceded

per hasnt got pace no one is saying he does, but notice how the only time during that counter where we could have quelled that counter attack kos messes up the tackle and gives it back to dortmund. Kos could have dealt with that but he didnt and instead somehow per is to blame because he couldnt run quickly?
9:24 - Notice how Mertesacker lets the Dortmund player just run in on goal. Why not get in front of him early and force him to play a pass out wide. Luckily for us, the Dortmund player didn't take his shot earlier

ox had the armenian (cant spell his name lol) and per was blocking the pass out wide he cant do both. If he commited to the armenian there would have been acres of space to his right uncontested, ox was at least recovering through the center. Kos was doing the exact same thing on his side, the difference is gibbs had recovered whilst on pers side there was no one to be seen. Kos should have closed the gap but he was ball watching and wasnt aware of his other defenders.

2nd point - Even if Kos was poorly positioned why can't Mertesacker cover Koscielny for once. There were no other Dortmund player to mark besides Aubameyang so why couldn't Mertesacker track the runner better. The move started in midfield so he had plenty of time to adjust himself and make sure that no one got in behind him

so you acknowledge kos was poorly positioned, all i am doing is pointing out that that if per is poorly positioned and kos cant save his ass people will blast per for all sorts so why isnt the same thing going on with kos? The reason why per couldnt track the runner better is because there was such a gulf of space in the middle it would have been impossible for per cover all options, especially with aubameyangs pace, i know people will try and argue that kos would have done it but that is simply untrue he wouldnt have. Defending isnt about individuals its about the collective if per is covering one route and the ball goes into another then that is kos' route, he isnt covering for mertesacker he is doing what he should be doing. If per is covering one route and the ball goes down that route then if kos manages to get across then yes he is covering. Most of the time however the first case is shown as kos covering per when in reality he isnt.

Even ignoring covering there are things that per does far better than kos such as win airial balls and defend set pieces. I dont see kos get half the stick for defending crosses and set pieces poorly (which a lot of the time when we do concede it's actually down to him) it seems like if per cant sprint at 100 miles per hour he's criticised yet if kos cannot judge the flight of the ball correctly and win a header all is good.

3rd point - Not blaming Mertesacker here just pointing out how is lack of pace can cost us. Arteta's to blame and it's Kos left yet again to bail everyone else out. Had the ball came across goal Mertesacker would have had no chance of preventing the goal but if Kos and Merts had switched positions at least Kos would have had a good chance at preventing the goal. Need to point out as well that Gibbs needs to take some of the blame as well. Had he been more aware and noticed that the counter was on he would have been in a better position to receive the rebound or at least stop the Dortmund player from running in behind Kos.

Your pointing out pers lack of pace but you're ignoring kos making a woeful challenge. Had it been per in that position he would have cleared the ball out of play or won the tackle outright so kos wouldnt need to cover. We all know arteta was at fault here, i dont think anyone contests this however kos was the only one who had a good opportunity to stop the counter and he failed. So he takes the second most blame. Kos was not decisive and it allowed dortmund into a dangerous position

4th point - Fair enough but I don't think Kos could have closed the gap as Gibbs was on the wrong side of the Dortmund player behind Koscielny. I still think forcing the Dortmund player to play the pass out wide would have been better. The angle would have been narrower for a shot and if a cross was to come in all our players would have already been back in the box. What Mertesacker did by allowing the Dortmund player to get into the box gave the Dortmund player the entire goal to aim at. Had the Dortmund player taken his shot earlier (i.e. right when he entered the box) that probably would have been another goal conceded

as i said gibbs had recovered and had recovered onto the dortmund players strong foot, yes maybe he was on the wrong side but had the pass been given to that player he would have needed to take a touch inside to where kos should have been if he closed the gap and if he didnt gibbs would have won the ball. The ball was on the left side of the pitch so kos should never have been that wide anyway. Even if you conclude per was at fault by the logic you use you have to also conclude kos was as well.

[CrimsonGunner11]

Wtaf? Thread is about the wrong CB imo

+1

Not that either need 'stick'

Mertesacker defo needs stick. Slow f**ker makes Kos look bad because he has to cover both their asses.

yup kos' poor positioning has nothing to do with him needing to cover 'mertesacker'

i guess hugging the touchline for aubameyangs goal and then sprinting desperately back in the center was kos 'covering mertesacker again'

Kos makes mistakes. The issue here is that it seems Kos gets more stick than Mertesacker and IMO it should be the other way round.

http://hoofoot.com/?match=Borussia_Dort ... 2014_09_16

3:12 - easily could have been a goal because Mertesacker was caught napping and didn't have enough pace to recover

yup per was at fault there

6:13 (the second goal) - Kos was keeping a close eye on the Dortmund player that was wide open down our left hand side. Aubameyang actually took the ball down closer to Merts and had Mertesacker been quick enough he could have prevented the goal himself. How is it that Mertesacker was closer to goal but it was Kos that nearly preveted the goal. Koscielny shouldn't be babysitting all our defenders

Koscielny was at fault here that's why he nearly prevented the goal instead of preventing it. Kos should never be marking a player that tightly on the left side of the pitch when the ball is on the right side. Cbs should never have a gap of more than 10-15 yards between them at the most. If kps had positioned himself correctly he wouldnt need to scramble he babysat no one, he switched off and tried to make amends.

8:34 - Notice how Mertesacker is just jogging back. Had Mkhitaryan cut the ball across goal instead of taking the shot that easily could have been another goal conceded

per hasnt got pace no one is saying he does, but notice how the only time during that counter where we could have quelled that counter attack kos messes up the tackle and gives it back to dortmund. Kos could have dealt with that but he didnt and instead somehow per is to blame because he couldnt run quickly?
9:24 - Notice how Mertesacker lets the Dortmund player just run in on goal. Why not get in front of him early and force him to play a pass out wide. Luckily for us, the Dortmund player didn't take his shot earlier

ox had the armenian (cant spell his name lol) and per was blocking the pass out wide he cant do both. If he commited to the armenian there would have been acres of space to his right uncontested, ox was at least recovering through the center. Kos was doing the exact same thing on his side, the difference is gibbs had recovered whilst on pers side there was no one to be seen. Kos should have closed the gap but he was ball watching and wasnt aware of his other defenders.

2nd point - Even if Kos was poorly positioned why can't Mertesacker cover Koscielny for once. There were no other Dortmund player to mark besides Aubameyang so why couldn't Mertesacker track the runner better. The move started in midfield so he had plenty of time to adjust himself and make sure that no one got in behind him

so you acknowledge kos was poorly positioned, all i am doing is pointing out that that if per is poorly positioned and kos cant save his ass people will blast per for all sorts so why isnt the same thing going on with kos? The reason why per couldnt track the runner better is because there was such a gulf of space in the middle it would have been impossible for per cover all options, especially with aubameyangs pace, i know people will try and argue that kos would have done it but that is simply untrue he wouldnt have. Defending isnt about individuals its about the collective if per is covering one route and the ball goes into another then that is kos' route, he isnt covering for mertesacker he is doing what he should be doing. If per is covering one route and the ball goes down that route then if kos manages to get across then yes he is covering. Most of the time however the first case is shown as kos covering per when in reality he isnt.

Even ignoring covering there are things that per does far better than kos such as win airial balls and defend set pieces. I dont see kos get half the stick for defending crosses and set pieces poorly (which a lot of the time when we do concede it's actually down to him) it seems like if per cant sprint at 100 miles per hour he's criticised yet if kos cannot judge the flight of the ball correctly and win a header all is good.

3rd point - Not blaming Mertesacker here just pointing out how is lack of pace can cost us. Arteta's to blame and it's Kos left yet again to bail everyone else out. Had the ball came across goal Mertesacker would have had no chance of preventing the goal but if Kos and Merts had switched positions at least Kos would have had a good chance at preventing the goal. Need to point out as well that Gibbs needs to take some of the blame as well. Had he been more aware and noticed that the counter was on he would have been in a better position to receive the rebound or at least stop the Dortmund player from running in behind Kos.

Your pointing out pers lack of pace but you're ignoring kos making a woeful challenge. Had it been per in that position he would have cleared the ball out of play or won the tackle outright so kos wouldnt need to cover. We all know arteta was at fault here, i dont think anyone contests this however kos was the only one who had a good opportunity to stop the counter and he failed. So he takes the second most blame. Kos was not decisive and it allowed dortmund into a dangerous position

4th point - Fair enough but I don't think Kos could have closed the gap as Gibbs was on the wrong side of the Dortmund player behind Koscielny. I still think forcing the Dortmund player to play the pass out wide would have been better. The angle would have been narrower for a shot and if a cross was to come in all our players would have already been back in the box. What Mertesacker did by allowing the Dortmund player to get into the box gave the Dortmund player the entire goal to aim at. Had the Dortmund player taken his shot earlier (i.e. right when he entered the box) that probably would have been another goal conceded

as i said gibbs had recovered and had recovered onto the dortmund players strong foot, yes maybe he was on the wrong side but had the pass been given to that player he would have needed to take a touch inside to where kos should have been if he closed the gap and if he didnt gibbs would have won the ball. The ball was on the left side of the pitch so kos should never have been that wide anyway. Even if you conclude per was at fault by the logic you use you have to also conclude kos was as well.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Imho, I think Koscielny gets enough stick with this thread being a case in point. Its Mertesacker that needs to get more stick imo but that's just my personal opinion

[Va-Va-Voom]

I think it's counter productive to have any thread dedicated to criticizing players.

[Arsenal Tone]

How many times a season is he going to cost us?

@OptaJoe
Since he made his @premierleague debut, Laurent Koscielny has given away more pens than any other player in the competition. Rash.

[Sims]

Tbf Hazard should've been brought down earlier but it would've been better to let him go through and force him on his left rather than stick a leg out.

[Dejan]

How many times a season is he going to cost us?

@OptaJoe
Since he made his @premierleague debut, Laurent Koscielny has given away more pens than any other player in the competition. Rash.

sick

[Zedie]

Tbf Hazard should've been brought down earlier but it would've been better to let him go through and force him on his left rather than stick a leg out.

Agreed. In hindsight, it just wasnt worth the risk. Personally, i still think Gibbs could have gotten half a challenge in, plus the angle would have been shitter from the left if he had gotten through.

[Maradonna]

Tbf Hazard should've been brought down earlier but it would've been better to let him go through and force him on his left rather than stick a leg out.

Agreed. In hindsight, it just wasnt worth the risk. Personally, i still think Gibbs could have gotten half a challenge in, plus the angle would have been shitter from the left if he had gotten through.

the peno was not his fault, it was a world class movement, period
he was at least responsible for the movement that predicted the goal with hazard blowing it. Also in the second goal, costa was coming from behind,, in both cases the man that got the ball was his man.
he is incredible nonetheless.

[Santi]

Got f***ked by everyone in front of him for the pen, guess most people want him to let Hazard score like they wanted Szczesny to let Gala score the other day. Szczesny should've cos we were 4-0 up and cruising, Kos should try to stop him.

He did some good stuff today, some shit stuff as well..not his best game overall.

[jmiles10]

the guy is criminally overrated, his got a lot of ability and say hypothetically if he was playing in cahills
position in a good defence setup with a good exp partner like terry, he would look a different prospect. But at arsenal his just been a flat track bully, against anyone decent him and per fall apart