Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny believes new-boys Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac are settling well at the club and growing in confidence.
Kolasinac and Lacazette are Arsenal’s two major acquisitions so far this summer and have spent the past couple of months settling in to new surroundings. Starting life at a new club is never an easy thing, especially when there’s so much pressure on both players to succeed.
Laurent Koscielny, who took a while to settle into Arsenal himself, has said the new boys are growing in confidence with the Gunners which bodes well for their chances of success in 2017/18. The pair are expected to be regulars and have looked good in pre-season early on.
“They have confidence and they’re getting more and more during the games. When you are a new player, when you arrive you are quiet, but after [the Emirates Cup] you will have confidence Lacazette and Sead are the same,” Koscielny said, reports Evening Standard.
“Sead played well and had more confidence around his team-mates, so it’s important to keep this up for the club. For Laca, the most important thing is to score. If he scores then he will have the confidence he needs to score a lot of goals.”
Arsenal plan on playing a 3-4-2-1 this upcoming season and are hoping to start the campaign quickly for the first time in several years.Wenger previously admitted that lengthy pre-season tours has seen the side struggle in the past, but tactical continuity could see a different outcome.
“We’ve worked a lot tactically because we’re playing with the new system. We had a great pre-season with some good and bad results, but the most important thing is to be ready for the first game,” added Koscielny.
“We just need to be ready for the first game. We had different players who arrived later than others because of our big squad, so everyone will have a big part to play in our success this season. We just need to be focused with our team-mates.”
Kolasinac and Lacazette being settled in the starting line-up should help Arsenal get off to a good start. Both players will have been boosted by their Emirates Cup performances. Kolasinac had a strong game in Arsenal’s 5-2 win over Benfica, while Lacazette scored his first goal in front of the home supporters.