Norwich City defender Jamal Lewis has praised Sead Kolasinac’s full-back play going forward, whilst also criticising the Bosnian international defensively.

Lewis currently plays in the Championship, believing himself to be the best left-back in the division. The 21-year-old knows he can always improve though, and he watches a number of other players in his position from around Europe to try and add to his game. One of those players is Arsenal’s Kolasinac.

“I like Sead Kolasinac at Arsenal,” Lewis said. “I admire the left-backs who have that real end product that can affect the game. I love Kolasinac’s end product and his crossing and runs but he’s not very good at defending.”

On the first point about Kolasinac’s end product, that’s certainly been a key feature of his game this season. From the Arsenal squad this season, only Mesut Özil has made more key passes per game than the 25-year-old in the Premier League, and no one has made more in the Europa League.

The result is that Kolasinac has six assists this season, as well as winning a penalty and forcing an own goal in a match against Bournemouth. All that despite missing the first three months of Premier League football with an injury.

Admittedly, Kolasinac’s defending hasn’t been quite so impressive, although Lewis is still being a bit harsh. The Arsenal man has improved at the back as the season has gone on, and WhoScored actually list his defensive contribution as “very strong” based on their statistical analysis.

That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement. He still makes too many mistakes to be considered a top-level player defensively, but his general contribution at the back is certainly better than it was.