A section of the Arsenal fans were elated with the dominating performance of skipper Laurent Koscielny during the 2-0 Premier League triumph over Chelsea on Saturday evening.
The Frenchman was lined up alongside Sokratis Papastathopoulos in a two-man central defence to curb the Blues’ threat and he managed to make a vital impact on both ends of the field.
While Koscielny showed glimpses of his old self with key blocks and clearances, he was also effective on the opposite end of the pitch where he scored the second goal which handed the club a strong advantage they could hold onto.
Here are some of the best tweets;
Btw where is the Koscielny is done tweets?
— Dej (@DejjLoso) January 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/GurjitAFC/status/1086706339659870209
Laurent Koscielny suffered a severe injury at 32 years of age and many wondered if he’d ever recover. He subsequently missed France’s World Cup triumph. He never gave up whilst in rehab and was phenomenal today, at both ends of the pitch. Hats off to him, no one deserves it more.
— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) January 19, 2019
The Koscielny-Sokratis pairing has always seemed like our best defensive partnership on paper, and tonight they are showing why. Brilliant so far.
— Sigurd (@ArtetaTactic) January 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/KelechiAFC/status/1086687333901049857
MOTM KOSCIELNY 😍
WHAT A SOLID PERFORMANCE FROM THE GUNNERS🔴#LondonIsRed pic.twitter.com/sMwJqpWlVf— Ahmad (@ahmad_gooner7) January 19, 2019
When Koscielny gets home and empties his pockets… pic.twitter.com/ToNS58mOGd
— SAMbi COYG (@GadgetAFC) January 19, 2019
Man of the match:
Lolo Koscielny
What a performance from the skipper!
Was always going to take time to get back to his best but today he really was back at the level we have become accustomed to.
The goal was the cherry on the top of a top top display!
— The Arsenal (@DareToWenger) January 19, 2019
A section of the Arsenal fans have been targeting Koscielny of late amid his average performances but that did not deter Emery from naming the centre-back for what was one of the club’s most important games of the campaign.
Koscielny, who had previously been struggling to get up to full fitness, produced a vintage performance but he was no doubt assisted by Sokratis effectively with the Greek coming up with vital interceptions while contributing the assist for the Frenchman’s goal, though the effort was meant to be a shot.
With the victory, the Gunners have moved within three points off fourth-placed Chelsea and Unai Emery will be hoping that the team can produce a similar showing for the forthcoming league games which certainly won’t be easy with an away trip to Manchester City scheduled next month.
Before that, however, they have an FA Cup fourth-round tie at home against Manchester United on Friday night and the manager should field the strongest possible lineup for the game, given the competition presents the best chance for the club to secure silverware.