Theo Walcott was impressed with Arsenal’s newbies after their individual performances in the Community Shield against Chelsea.
Walcott was full of praise for Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac following their displays against Chelsea on Sunday.
“The manager will be the judge but Sead [Kolasinac] is an absolute animal. Not many players are going to want to face him this season that’s for sure,” the forward told talkSPORT.
“And [Alexandre] Lacazette nearly scored in the first-half, it’s just a glimpse of what he can do.”
Lacazette played the first 66 minutes before being substituted for Olivier Giroud. He had one shot, which frustratingly hit the post, but boasted a 94% pass completion rate.
Alright, he only attempted 18 passes but he’s a striker, what do you expect?
Although he didn’t find the back of the net, he looked sharp and as he beds into the team, he’ll only get better.
Sead Kolasinac came on in the 32nd minute after Per Mertesacker was subbed off. The centre-back collided with Gary Cahill’s elbow, which led to blood. Lots of blood.
https://twitter.com/afcvideo/status/894208897514393600
Kolasinac, however, as Theo says, was an animal, and even scored Arsenal’s equaliser just seconds after Pedro was sent off for a tackle on Mohamed Elneny.
The former Schalke left-back completed 40/43 passes (93%) and won three tackles, as well as one aerial duel.
https://twitter.com/theowalcott/status/894300314467270656
As Theo pointed out, not many opposition players are going to fancy going up against the man known as the ‘Bosnian Hulk’. He, along with Granit Xhaka, should be able to add some grit to an Arsenal side that’s often been criticised for not being ‘hard’ enough.
In the English game, it’s about striking a balance between beautiful football, and strength, which until this point Arsenal have found difficult.
Hopefully, with the help of Kolasinac, this team can become a force to be reckoned with.