Top 10 breakout stars of 2017

Sead Kolasinac

Kolasinac joined Arsenal on a free

When Arsenal signed Sead Kolasinac on a Bosman deal in the summer, it was a move that gained little fanfare. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international, however, had rapidly been making a name for himself in the Bundesliga and was named the league’s outstanding left-back of season 2016-17 before he moved to the Emirates Stadium.

“He is so strong that nobody can stop him,” former team-mate Timo Hildebrand told Sky Sports in the summer. “He is really strong and also a fighter. He had those qualities even when he was a young player coming through the ranks at Schalke.

“He is a very good player and I think he is going to do well in the Premier League. He is the perfect signing for Arsenal.”

If fans in Germany knew that he was going to be a success at one of England’s biggest clubs, those supporters at the Emirates were a little cool on signing a player who was largely unknown outside of the country he had been playing in. He has since allayed fears impressively and has developed into one of the Gunners’ foremost players.

Not only has he shown himself to be a reliable presence at the back but he has also been formidable going forward, offering a surprisingly assured touch in the final third for a player whose outstanding attribute is his brute strength.

He was dropped around Christmas as manager Arsene Wenger felt that he needed a breather, yet he is sure to respond in the second half of the season and further establish himself at the very top level of the game.