Both play for Arsenal They are our best pairing and the best at Arsenal probably since Sol and Kolo, imo
Vermaelen/Djourou will be much stronger than Kos/Djourou. I think Kos still has a lot to prove. His game remains flawed and he continues to make game costing lapses. Vermaelen is more complete, makes less error and is also a better leader than Kos.
I don't remember Vermaelen making any youtube worthy blunders beyond that clumsy challenge against West Ham that won him a red card. He gets out of position at times but that's the nature of his game and not an issue if his partner is doing his job. I certainly don't remember him making any blunder on the level of the one Koscielny made that cost us our Carling Cup.
Initially I was really underwhelmed by his signing, but by his 2nd game I was won, 1st of all he is a true defender, he knows the art of defending, and personally I think he is the best defender that Wenger has ever paid money for, Sol was free, so he doesn't count and he is better defender than Varmaeleen, even though TV is a better all round player. He can defend, his positioning is excellent especially for a young defender, I think he reads the game very well, I really enjoy this part of his game the most, and because of that he can cover others well,see the Barca game at the emirates and after around the 34th min, he starts intercepting balls from the midfeild. Its rare for a player to join Arsenal and they have to adopt to the way he plays as much as the player has to adopt the Arsenal "way", but in Koscielny that was a 1st especially for a defender, the way he attacks aerial balls, but is always going to direct the ball into space,for a team mate to get the ball or head the ball directly to a team mate. He rarely fouls in this aspect but his efficiency and obsession in turning this aerial balls into Arsenal possesion is outstanding. The team has learned to trust him in this regard, so rather than initially crowding him when he jumps for aerial balls, there has been more of a tendancy for those nearest to anticipate that the ball will be won as his timing is excellent. Kosc is not experienced, as evidenced by the Ipswich games and a few other mistakes, but for once we do have a true defender and are not prone to as much counter attacks as we were in the last season or two.
own goal against chelsea. without having a go at either player, as i rate both of them, what's the difference between a goal against due to an out of position defender and a goal against due to an in position defender who makes a mistake? seems like the same outcome to me. http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/04/09/thomas-vermaelen-arsenal-positional-errors/
It's Vermaelen's job to be out of position; he needs to aggressively attack every ball and any gaps he leaves behind should be covered by his fellow defenders. And the goalkeeper, but our goalkeepers last season was napping in his job. So that Zonal marking guy doesn't have a good idea how the new generation of aggressive defenders like Vermaelen/Koscienly/Luiz works. But I am convinced that Vermaelen is much stronger than Koscienly and much less prone to lapses too. He has a much higher celling than Koscienly, something that I am certain will be proven over time.
what? its definitely not his job to be out of position... he makes mistakes, and made a lot of them last season.... his goals overshadowed this... I remember some errors he made in that 6-2 game against Blackburn as well. it was oveshadowed because he scored a 30 yarder in that game and new generation of aggressive CBs? did you just make that up? aggressive CBs have always been around truthfully, I am happy we have both... I prefer Kos because our defensive record this year is better than it has been in a while and I saw him contain Messi and snuff out Pedro whenever he came at him... he also plays like a defender and is a brilliant tackler... but if Vermaelen can recover, lets see how that works out... my feeling is that Vermaelen is the better footballer, but Kos is the better defender
entirely plausible. we're also judging both of them from their first season in the premiership so they both still have some growing/settling to do. the biggest difference i get at the moment is their aggressiveness, both offensively and defensively. it will be a neat "problem" to have.
Might seem a little silly but couldn't Vermaelen play as a LB at time for us seeing he's done it before and if healthy Kos and Djorou could play together. I'm only say this because sometimes we should change our tactics against teams that can hurt us on the counter. It would be nice to have 4 overall solid defenders. Just a thought.
If you're referring to Djourou's injury, yes I saw it. I didn't mean we should do it right away. I meant next year.
Couldn't find any other thread for him But rumors on Twitter seem to suggest he will get his first cap tonight for France against the United States Well done and well deserved I'm happy for him
Koscielny was great for the most part on his debut. Excellent tackling and distribution throughout the game, and attacked strongly a couple of times. Very solid in the air and in the ground. His worst mistake was tugging Altidore down at the end; if the play wasn't deemed offsides a second before it would've been a clear red card IMO. So glad he's a gunner. I for one think he's only going to continue to improve, and will become a respected and feared CB. EDIT: He also pulled Altidore down in the box and I could see another referee rewarding a penalty and a probably a card. He did play part a shutout so thats always good
Agreed. There were a few times he was forced to make fouls because of others mishaps. He did really well. We have a quality CB in Koscielny
Bump. I'm curious to see what people think of Big Kos since pairing up with Mertesacker in the middle after Santos and Gibbs have been out of commission. I really liked him at the beginning of the season, but since Vermaelen has been put on the left wing, Kos has totally dominated. I'm especially impressed by his pace, which I did not expect from a guy who looks like an iguanodon. Is he better than Vermaelen right now? If Santos came back today and Verm and Kos both played in the middle of defense, who would you consider more reliable?
well considering Vermaelen is being played out of position, yes, he has been better than him. but overall at CB I think Vermaelen still pips him. Kos has been good though, no doubt about it. Wenger got it right on that one.
better than Vermaelen? That question has been extinguished, you need to compare Kos to the best of the premiership. Kos has been either 1 or 2 centerbacks in the whole premiership this season for me. My hope is that the club gives him a big pay raise this summer to keep him on board for the future. The guy is an outstanding centerback and can do everything you need. He has speed, he is intelligent, best tackler in the league, and this may sound crazy but I think on Arshavin and RVP have better technique on the ball than him. He is physical, aggressive, strong, and wins most of his aerial battles. The guy is outstanding and we are lucky he is at Arsenal.
Agreed with this. I hope he and Vermaelen both get offers from the club that keep them around. Those two together for the next 5 years.... Imagine it.