Laurent Koscielny was probably Arsenal’s best player against Middlesbrough.

Despite making an early mistake, which almost led to a Boro goal in the first half, the centreback was massive in keeping the scoreline at 0-0 throughout the rest of the match, making more than one last ditch yet perfectly timed tackle.

The Frenchman made a total of 66 passes, 54 of which were successful, and recovered the ball 10 times – more than any other player. He also completed four interceptions, which was the same as Hector Bellerin, except Kos’ were arguably far more valuable.

The 0-0 draw against Boro marks Kos’ 11th appearance this season in all competitions; eighth in the Premier League. In fact, he’s only missed two games. Our EFL Cup match away to Nottingham Forest and our opening game of the season against Liverpool, which he missed out on due to his late involvement in Euro 2016.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Laurent Koscielny of Arsenal (L) attempts to block Alvaro Negredo of Middlesbrough (R) shot during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Middlesbrough at Emirates Stadium on October 22, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 22: Laurent Koscielny of Arsenal (L) attempts to block Alvaro Negredo of Middlesbrough (R) shot during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Middlesbrough at Emirates Stadium on October 22, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Game by game, the centreback proves why Wenger was right to take a chance on him six years ago when the bloke hadn’t even played a whole year for Lorient.

He’s calm, collected and a commanding, yet professional force from the back and having him along with new boy Shkodran Mustafi behind our team allows our more creative attacking stars to play their game.

Against Boro we were missing two of these creative-minded individuals, Cazorla and Xhaka, and therefore, even having our big guy at the back couldn’t do much.

What’s important, however, is that Kos kept a clean sheet and helped to ensure weren’t completely humiliated.

Would I rather he was a little more shouty on the pitch? Sure.

But we can’t all be perfect.