the 370Z.com OFFICIAL football (soccer) thread

[phelan]

Originally Posted by cow

I'm forgiving of Koscielny on the Diouf to Diouf goal-- the guy had gotten a harsh red in his last match; had he fouled Diouf #1 in that position, he'd probably have gotten another red & maybe given away a penalty. I blame the goal more on Clichy's ball watching.

I grant you that Koscielny shouldn't have been so easily muscled away by Diouf #1, but I think he's been very solid beyond that.

I put a lot of the blame on Clichy. I still think Gibbs should get some first team matches under his belt, and make Clichy feel less 'entitled' to the position. Maybe he'd pick up his play again.

Koscielny has played excellent for Arsenal so far. I agree with what the pundits on Arseblog wrote:

Out of curiosity I looked at his performances against Liverpool and Blackburn via the Guardian Chalkboards - he's won every tackle on the deck. He's been beaten a couple of times in the air but on the ground he's at 100% (5 tackles v Blackburn, 1 v Liverpool). I know it's early in the season but it augurs well. It's how quickly he learns that will determine his success, I think.

Out of the 11 tackles vs. Blackburn, he won all but two, losing those in the air. Pretty respectable for a guy who looks like a stick out there on the pitch. Get some muscle on him, and he'll be a great defender.