Our captain has reestablished himself as one of the key defenders. He had quite a poor run of games after recovering from an ankle injury. However, it seems he’s close to his best form now.
1. Koscielny
“We teetered on the edge of the end of the world against Southampton. When Nathan Redmond got in behind our defense, I was picturing how Koscielny never would have let that happen. Ever. He wouldn’t have allowed his defense to be that disorganized. Bournemouth have their weapons, and knowing that Koscileny is back, he easily slots in as a key player because someone has to hold this back line together, and that someone is him.”
Koscielny: Our togetherness will help us massively to reach where we want to be. The race will be tight, right until the end between us and the other teams and just a point could make the difference in the end. So we need to start today.— James Benge (@jamesbenge) February 24, 2019
2. Xhaka
The midfielder often gets rightfully criticised for horrible defensive lapses. He gifted the ball to Ward-Prouse at the edge of the box with a cross pass. Luckily the Soton man fired wide. He has to rule out those blunders. Apart from that, he is a pivotal player in midfield.
📊 | #AFC #ARSS
Granit Xhaka vs Southampton(H):
66 accurate passes (90% success rate)
2 Key Passes
90% long ball accuracy (9/10)
7/9 duels won
Dispossessed 0 times
3 clearances
1 interception pic.twitter.com/TTSnQ8zaC6— afcSource™ (@afcSource) February 24, 2019
“Since returning from injury, Granit Xhaka has touched the ball 200 times, created six chances, completed 89% of his passes, notched two assists and given up possession all of one whole time. Xhaka has been monumental in two straight matches and given that this match is looking like another controllable match at the Emirates against a mid-table club, expect Xhaka to be just as epic as he has been.”
3. Mesut Ozil
Unai Emery On Mesut Ozil’s performance Sunday 💪🏽 #AFC #COYG #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/KOSCyAuzMx— Arsenal Republic (@arsenalrepblic) February 26, 2019
Hopefully, the German is on his way to get back into XI. At least, Emery is positive about his latest cameos vs BATE and Soton. It seems the boss has changed his stance on the playmaker, who’s likely to give an important edge in games in the crucial period of the season.