Arsenal midfielder Alex Iwobi has picked central defender Laurent Koscielny as the team’s best reader of the game, ahead of the likes of Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla.
The host to a series of questions for Soccer AM, Iwobi admits he can’t figure out how Koscielny does what he does ever so often on the field: find the right pass after running into midfield with the ball at his feet.
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The central defender has gone on to become of the Premier League’s best defenders ever since joining Arsenal from French side Lorient back in 2010. Having made 191 appearances for the Gunners in the Premier League, he is also one of the senior most players in the team and captains the side in the absence of Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla.
“The way he [Koscielny] reads the game sometimes, it’s just crazy,” he said. “He’s always one step ahead, I don’t know how he does it.”
Iwobi also picked out Alexis Sanchez in the video for being the one closest to the manager, Arsene Wenger. “He’s always out early, talking to the boss, they must have something going on,” said Iwobi.
“Sometimes he does things and the boss is telling him off, it’s like a love-hate relationship, more time it’s love.”
Much like Koscielny, Sanchez has become one of Arsenal’s most vital players. Having joined from Barcelona only two and a half years ago, the Chilean is one of the first names on the team sheet and does what he does best when he’s part of a flexible front-three usually alongside Iwobi himself and Englishman Theo Walcott.
Arsene Wenger has openly admitted his love of the Chilean in the past naming him as one of the better players he’s managed in his career. The Chilean has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water scoring and assisting for fun. His ability to play through injuries is a huge boost for the Gunners who have the unwarranted reputation for being the club who fail to win the title due to multiple injuries.
However, the Gunners have been unbeaten since the opening day defeat to Liverpool thanks to the likes of Alex Iwobi, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil amongst others. They’re currently in fourth place, three points behind leaders Chelsea.
Post Wednesday’s fixture against Paris Saint-Germain, they have a favourable run of fixtures taking on Bournemouth and Southampton at home before travelling only a few miles to take on West Ham and then a flight to Switzerland to take on FC Basel for the final group stage match of the UEFA Champions League.
(Video courtesy: Soccer AM)
