Premier League winners and losers: United keep up the pressure
By Ty Finch
Winner: Sead Kolasinac
Arsenal were 2-1 winners at home against Swansea over the weekend. Swansea took the lead in the first half with their first shot on target, something that is as time-honored as the ball dropping in Times Square on New Years. The Gunners were dominating the game throughout but needed a heroic effort from an unlikely source to get over the line with a win.
Kolasinac has had a solid, yet unspectacular season for Arsenal so far. The Bosnian left-back came to London in the summer transfer window for free from Schalke. Kolasinac was coming off a good season for the German side, and the decision to allow him to leave for free seems stranger as he rounds into form for the Gunners. He cost £53 million less than Alexandre Lacazette and has arguably made a bigger impact.
Ever since Wenger abandoned the puzzling experiment of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin as a wing-back by selling him to Liverpool, Kolasinac has been Arsenal’s best defender. Against Swansea, he scored the game-tying goal and provided the game-winning assist. His goal was well taken, lashing a lightly bouncing ball into the net from 12 yards out after a scramble in the box. His assist just seven minutes later was even better. Granit Xhaka found Kolasinac’s run into the penalty area with a long ball over the top, and the left-back took the ball down with ease before cutting it back to an onrushing Aaron Ramsey to tuck away.
Arsenal weren’t at their best against Swansea, so they needed someone to step up. Kolasinac was the unlikely hero on Saturday, and Arsenal would love to see his form continue.