YOU CAN’T BEAT EM!
Unai key to run says Kosc
LAURENT KOSCIELNY claims Arsenal boss Unai Emery has given the club a blast of fresh air.
The Frenchman may have only just joined the party, having spent the last seven months out with a ruptured Achilles tendon but Koscielny has nothing but praise for the inspirational Gunners coach.
Since losing their opening two Premier League clashes of the season, Emery’s red-hot troops have gone 22 games without defeat in any competition.
They travel to basement-boys Southampton today only SIX matches away from equalling the club’s best-ever unbeaten run of 28, achieved by Arsene Wenger’s class of 2007.
Koscielny made his long-awaited return in Thursday’s Europa League victory over Qarabag FK.
An impressive 60 minutes means he is in contention at St Mary’s.
Yet while beating his injury hell has put a smile back on the defender’s face, so too has the sight of Arsenal becoming a force again under Emery.
Gunners skipper Koscielny, 33, said: “The manager and his style is fresh air for the club.
“He came here with his ideas and knew the football he wanted to play. He tries to give all the ingredients for the players to learn about his tactics and how he wants to play. I’ve been running since the end of August and was near the team during the training sessions. I watched it all.
“We have progressed a lot in each part of our football – it’s good and interesting.” As for his own battle against the savage injury that robbed him of World Cup glory with France, Koscielny revealed it left him in a dark and lonely place.
“During rehab, you have you and yourself,” he said.
“For me, it was very important to stay in my bubble and be focused with one target: To come back stronger and quicker.
“You have good moments but also bad ones. Some days you can’t progress in the way you wish. “This is difficult. But you have friends and family around to keep your head up.” One major motivation was the prospect of playing his part in the Emery era. Asked if being crocked felt even worse with the side in such fabulous form, Koscielny claimed it was the complete opposite. He responded: “Extra hard? No. “I was very active for my team and my team-mates because I am the No.1 fan of this club.
“It was important after those first two defeats at the beginning to win – and now the team know the tactics and ideas of the coach better – we can see the results. We have gone 22 games unbeaten. This is the club’s best run without a defeat since 2007 when they got to 28.
“We need to try to catch them.”
A stand-out feature of Emery’s management is his flexibility, in terms of varying tactics, formations and selections.
And the former Paris St-Germain, Sevilla and Valencia chief (right) has been making the correct calls most of the time.
Take Uruguay ace Lucas Torreira.
Emery surprised many when the £26.4million summer signing from Sampdoria was only a substitute early in the campaign.
Yet that was merely to ensure Torreira – who scored the winner against Huddersfield last week with an overhead cracker – would be physically and mentally ready for the rigours of the English game.
Another inspired move, according to Koscielny.
He added: “Lucas started on the bench but now you can see his confidence.
“He’s had the chance to grow up slowly with the team, in a new country and new stadium, which is very different to Italy. Now we have Lucas at 100 per cent capacity.”
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