Player ratings vs Blackburn

[Invincible]

Invincible

You’ve seen Kos play 2 PL games and you think he’s a “failed signing”.

What particular aspects of his game worry you to this extent?!

Physically weak. Doesn't seem to have much pace. An air of naivety about his defending. Allows himself to get bullied.

 

[AnthonyG]

Yet one of the best if not the best player against Liverpool.

This kind of sweeping analysis is how false impressions of players begin. Koscielny actually had a good game today; I know we would not have dealt so well with all of those set-pieces and long balls last season.

 

[Invincible]

But he wasn't the sole reason why we dealt better with the aerial balls today. Chamakh had a big role in that as well when he came on.

One thing I've not criticized him on is his aerial ability, which I think is quite good. So I'm not sure why you've brought up the long ball issue.

 

[MAK 14]

If the Koscielny 'mistake' hadn't resulted in a goal I'm certain he'd be a contender for man of the match. He performed well today; was pretty commanding for most of the game.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Yet one of the best if not the best player against Liverpool.

And Milan.

I think the guy is a class act. He just happened to make a bad mistake today (and you have to ask why he was put in that situation in the first place), but it's not something I'd expect him to repeat anytime soon. And he more than made up for it with his aerial game and several crucial blocks.

 

[AnthonyG]

Well, naivety and being bullied and weak and slow seems to me a list of attributes that we really don't want in a defender no matter how good he may be in the air (not being weak and bullied are important here).

You can hardly rate him if you think all of the above is true?

 

[Y va marquer]

Kos appeared nervous initially but I wouldn't say he was bullied.

He was definitely out paced by Diouf in the move that led to the goal but he didn't appear to let this affect him for the remainder of the match.

Won plenty of balls in the air including beating Samba on the edge of the box to stop a Blackburn attack in injury time.

I can't say that I'm 100% convinced just yet but there's absolutely no way I'd call him a "failed signing"
- if anything I think he will settle and grow in confidence as the season progresses.

 

[lagos]

I think he was nervous perhaps because he had heard so much about Fat Sam and his teams and knew it was on games like this he would be judged. It was a schoolboy error but you can't call him a failed signing based on that.

 

[Invincible]

Well, naivety and being bullied and weak and slow seems to me a list of attributes that we really don't want in a defender no matter how good he may be in the air (not being weak and bullied are important here).

You can hardly rate him if you think all of the above is true?

I think there's a difference between being bullied in the air and on the ground, the latter is what I'm alluding to. There's nothing wrong with his aerial game, he has a fantastic spring and gets a lot of power on his headers. But the way he got bounced by Diouf was not very impressive wouldn't you agree? A standard Premier League CB would never get outmuscled by someone like Diouf, I mean come on, he's no Drogba.

 

[AnthonyG]

Eh, stop squirming.

You think he's a failed signing, but you hope to be proven wrong (which is a weak cop-out BTW).

I say after two games - good ones at that - that's well premature.

 

[Invincible]

If I hoped to be proven wrong it's only for the sake of the club. :?

And yes, so far I DO think he has failed. But he's got plenty of time to change my mind.

 

[celestis]

Nahh ,Diouf is a handful and has troubled plenty of premier league defenders .

 

[Biggus]

Al- Tbf did a difficult job well enough
Sagna, TV- Great work.
Clichy, Fabregas, Diaby- Meh
Song- MINUS 10 for that hair, get it cut soldier! otherwise ok.
Kos, skinned by the spitting turd but he got better.
AA, getting there.
RvP- whats the point?
Chak- Great work rate I'm liking him more and more.
Theo!- Brilliant keep it up!

 

[Clrnc]

If the Koscielny 'mistake' hadn't resulted in a goal I'm certain he'd be a contender for man of the match. He performed well today; was pretty commanding for most of the game.

Absolutely. He improved after his 30min poor header to concede a throw in. I thought after that he was pretty good, did well in everything and actually covered Vermaelen alot.

I don't think the goal he concede was due to him not having enough pace, but rather he tried to challenge in a wrong way that cause him to stumble and was off balanced. He is not the fastest defenders around but he still have some decent pace. I am not worried to be honest. By his standards, he is at least half as good as Gallas in only his 2nd games in the league

 

[Ron Burgundy]

I agree with Clrnc - I don't think Koscielny lacks pace at all. He's no Theo, but he managed to beat Torres to the ball in their little tussle at Anfield, and Torres is no slouch. That incident aside, he's looked to have decent pace to me in the few game I've watched him in. He and Vermaelen certainly won't get beaten for pace by too many forwards this season.

There's no getting around it though - Koscielny made a mistake yesterday which cost us a goal - but I still like the look of him. I think he'll be a success.

 

[Y va marquer]

Clichy and TV also played their part in the display of unfortunate defending that led to the BB goal, allowing MB Diouf to pop in between them to score.

The expressions on their faces afterwards were of the bemused “where did he spring from?” variety.

 

[CrazyInLoveWithArsenal]

Surprised by the reaction to Kos's performance. I thought he did alright, was beaten for the goal but had an otherwise good game. He will only get better and seems to complement Vermaelen very well.

 

[mo50]

Koscielny underestimated Diouf's strength and tried to shove him off the ball. Such things can be rectified. He had a much improved game after the initial 30 minutes.

Kudos to Vermaelen though, he's an absolute rock. Almost nothing got past him. He jumped all over the Blackburn players and was immense yesterday.

I also agree with Biggus above regarding Song's hairstyle. I thought his old hair style was bad enough, he looks like a grandpa now.

 

[CrazyInLoveWithArsenal]

Song looks like Abel Xavier with his new do. I hated Xavier, sort it out Alex!

 

[Gunner_JT]

Koscielny underestimated Diouf's strength and tried to shove him off the ball. Such things can be rectified. He had a much improved game after the initial 30 minutes.

Kudos to Vermaelen though, he's an absolute rock. Almost nothing got past him. He jumped all over the Blackburn players and was immense yesterday.

I also agree with Biggus above regarding Song's hairstyle. I thought his old hair style was bad enough, he looks like a grandpa now.

This. I mentioned earlier Kos just didn't go in hard and low like a Prem defender would and this comes down to the inexperience, a bit of nerves and also a lack of strength. I thought he was class after it, a great response from him.