Let’s be honest, the signing of Sead Kolasinac has never really been too much of a secret – but then again, what is at Arsenal these days?
Following months of reports, it was confirmed by Sky Sports on Monday morning that the Gunners will sign the 23-year-old on a five-year contract.
Arsene Wenger snapped up his first summer transfer from Schalke, where Kolasinac’s contract will run out on June 30th after opting not to renew.
And after scanning multiple YouTube videos and delving into some weirdly names foreign football blogs, I’ve managed to find out a little bit more about the defender.
So who exactly is Sead Kolasinac and what’s he doing joining Arsenal? I’ve broken it down into three points you can bring up whilst sitting around the pub this week!
Player Profile
- Age: 23
- Position: Defender (centre-back and left-back)
- Previous Clubs: Schalke (graduated from their academy)
- Country: Bosnia
- International Caps: 18
1 – His Versatility Is Key
Having played in the Bundesliga all his life, Kolasinac has managed to adapt into a player that can feature across the entirety of the defensive line.
Primarily a left-back, the youngster can also feature at centre-back when given half the chance and has also had to do a job in central defensive midfield.
If you were to compare him to any player in the current squad, it would be a Monreal or Coquelin, someone who is comfortable in doing what he’s told.
Either way, you’re always going to get a safe performance from Kolasinac, nothing spectacular but a player that turns up and does his job under pressure.
Having started his career playing through the middle, Kolasinac’s ability to think whilst on the ball soon saw him switch out to the left hand side.
Since then he’s been occupying the position of a left wing-back, something that Arsenal don’t really have a great deal of experience in.
But what makes Kolasinac such a sensible signing is the fact that, when Arsenal have to regularly rotate, you can be sure that he won’t be fazed.
Wenger is tending to do this a lot more recently, having bagged Shkodran Mustafi who can also feature at right-back, and Lucas Perez who is comfortable in any of the front three positions.