Bayern capitulations re-emphasise Koscielny's importance to Arsenal
In the minutes following the full time whistle at the Emirates on Tuesday, Twitter was inundated with '10-2' jokes - here's looking at you, Bayern. In what is likely to be Arsene Wenger’s final Champions League game at the Arsenal helm, it was an embarrassing night for the Gunners, who emphatically crashed out of the competition. The 5-1 reverse to Bayern Munich, Arsenal’s worst defeat at the Emirates, felt like a final nail in the #WengerOut coffin, with most now of the assumption that the Frenchman will call time on his career in north London at the end of the season.
It could well have been so different across the two legs for Arsenal, though. Up until the 50th minute at the Allianz Arena, the Gunners held their own against the Bundesliga champions. In the 55th minute at the Emirates, meanwhile, Arsenal were 1-0 up and held the advantage on the night. Both times, the capitulation came about following Laurent Koscielny’s departure from the pitch. The French defender went off injured when Arsenal were drawing 1-1 with Bayern in Germany.
Back on home turf, his unjust red card came when Arsenal were leading and were perhaps the better side. Arsenal crumbled in both games when he went off, with the aggregate score standing at 2-1 in their favour with Koscielny on the pitch. Off it, Bayern trounced their Premier League counterparts 9-0 hammering home his importance to the Gunners, with Koscielny undeniably one of the first names of the Arsenal teamsheet. This is noted in his WhoScored rating (7.39), which is second only to Alexis Sanchez (7.85) of all Arsenal players in the Premier League this season.
There is no denying that the 31-year-old has established himself as one of the best centre-back’s in England and it’s also little shock that Arsenal self-destructed after he was forced off in both Champions League legs against Bayern Munich. The Gunners’ soft underbelly is routinely exposed when the going gets tough, with Koscielny the glue that tends to hold the backline together. When he is unavailable in defence, the team routinely falls apart without his leadership qualities.
While highlighted in the 10-2 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich, this was also reaffirmed in the opening weekend 4-3 home loss to Liverpool - the only Premier League game Koscielny hasn’t started this season - as Arsenal failed to keep the Reds attack at bay. Fans may be craving Alexis and Mesut Ozil to pen new deals for the Gunners, but Koscielny’s decision to extend his stay at the Emirates until 2020 at the turn of the year was perhaps the most important contract extension.
His positive impact at the back means that, since the start of the 2012/13 season, Arsenal are conceding fewer goals per league game with Koscielny starting (0.96) than when he does not (1.19), while they win considerably more often when the Frenchman features from the off (60.3%) than when he is unable to start (47.6%). What’s more is that he is second for interceptions (72) and first for possession won in the defensive third (111) in the Premier League this season. Rather than rely on last ditch, frantic tackles to rob the opposition of possession, Koscielny prefers a more measured approach to deny opponents, with his impressive reading of the game earning him a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘ball interception’.
His composure both on and off the ball resonates throughout the team and it’s no longer a shock when Arsenal fall to pieces at the back when Koscielny is unavailable. Indeed, in the 191 minutes of Premier League and Champions League football Koscielny has missed this season, the Gunners have shipped 13 goals, conceding on average once every 14.7 minutes. He exudes confidence, which evaporates in the side without his solidity. Take the two legs against Bayern, even when Arsenal had 11 men on the pitch, the centre-back partnership of Gabriel and Shkodran Mustafi crumbled. On Tuesday when leaders were required for damage limitation, Mustafi faltered, with his two sub-6.00 WhoScored rated performances across the Premier League and Champions League this season coming against Bayern (5.78 and 5.41).
Following his return from injury at the turn of the year, the German centre-back has flattered to deceive having started life with Arsenal brightly. The Gunners were unbeaten in every competitive match Mustafi started following his arrival and prior to an injury that sidelined him for three weeks across December, yet have lost five of the last 12 competitive matches he has started since. All of those may have come with Koscielny featuring alongside him, but a dip in his own personal performances have contributed to that downturn in form.
While once lauded as one of the best centre-back partnerships in the Premier League, the duo has seen their stock fall as Arsenal falter. Yet, if the two legged Champions League affair is anything to go by, the Gunners place too much pressure on Koscielny to excel, as without him they are unable to perform to their expected standards.
