Emery must sign a replacement for 33-year-old if Arsenal are to progress any further

Arsenal’s thumping 5-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday exposed a number of flaws that Unai Emery must address, and the first thing the Spanish boss must do in the January transfer window is replace his club captain.

On the chalkboard

Laurent Koscielny has only recently returned to action after a long layoff with an Achilles injury, but his severe lack of pace was exposed by Liverpool’s dynamic attack.

There is no doubt that in his prime, Koscielny was one of the Premier League’s top centre-backs. However, the most obvious example of his downfall came early in the second half at Anfield when Xherdan Shaqiri slipped a ball through that Mohamed Salah raced onto.

The Egyptian burned past Koscielny to get to the ball and although his touch was poor and Bernd Leno saved, the Frenchman was left embarrassed.

Replacement needed

The 33-year-old can no longer be relied upon to play at the heart of Arsenal’s defence in such important games if Emery wants to bring the club back to where they should be.

The former Paris Saint-Germain boss brought in both Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis during the summer, but Rob Holding’s injury has left the Gunners short at the back.

The chequebook must be opened in the winter transfer window to sign a defender, and if an offer comes in for Koscielny then it should be seriously considered.

from FootballFanCast.com http://bit.ly/2Szk6kZ