Why Mertesacker or Koscielny should be in EPL Team of the Year

Why Mertesacker or Koscielny should be in EPL Team of the Year

Although Kompany has dispossessed his opponents on total of 17 different occasions, far more than the Gunners’ centre backs who’ve done so only six times, they’ve been far more involved in other aspects of defending.

Advertisement
Why Mertesacker or Koscielny should be in EPL Team of the Year

Vincent Kompany and Manchester City are atop the Premier League table and as things stand, are poised to win it in a week’s time.

The burly Belgian has been instrumental for City at the back, but truth be told, has not been at his best this season. There are two centre-backs who deserve to be part of the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Team of the Year, based on their performances.

Advertisement

At first sight, although Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker may not look like one of the strongest duos in the Premier League, they are one of the most consistent, and that is displayed in the form of their defensive scores.

On football statistic site Squawka.com, Mertesacker and Koscielny have a net performance score of 1050.81 and 1038.72, far outstripping both Kompany’s total of 582.38 and fellow Team of the Season inductee Gary Cahill (911.82).

In fact, despite Mertesacker often being derided for his lack of pace and inability to track back, he has been the foundations upon which Arsenal’s defence has been constructed. His ability to read the game and position himself means he does not depend on his physical prowess as much as other centre backs do.

Advertisement
Getty Images

Koscielny too has improved massively since that defensive gaffe during Arsenal’s Capital One Cup final in 2011, when he gifted Obafemi Martins and Birmingham City the cup. Since then, he has displaced club captain Thomas Vermaelen as Arsenal’s first choice centre-back pairing alongside Mertesacker and has improved leaps and bounds.

The German has a defence score of 520.74, nearly twice as much as Kompany’s 277.98. His defensive partner Koscielny has an even higher performance score of 705.61. These defensive scores are dependent on defensive actions such as tackles won and lost, clearances, interceptions made and the number of one-on-ones they’ve successfully negotiated.

Advertisement

Although Kompany has dispossessed his opponents on total of 17 different occasions, far more than the Gunners’ centre backs who’ve done so only six times, they’ve been far more involved in other aspects of defending.

While Mertesacker has made 56 interceptions, slightly more than Kompany’s 52, Koscielny has made 83, far more than the Belgian. The duo have also lost less tackles than the Manchester City skipper. Kompany has lost 41 of the tackles he’s challenged for, in comparison with Mertesacker (31) and Koscielny (30).

Advertisement

They’ve also made more clearances from potential goal-scoring situations. The German has 238 to his name while his French counterpart has 232. Kompany has made 137, or slightly more than half. Moreover, they’ve picked up a combined total of only five yellow cards: one more than Kompany’s six, with the Belgian in fact committing two errors that led to goals by opposition players.

Advertisement

Kompany’s physicality would normally lead to the assumption that he puts his body on the line. That may be true: he’s made 12 blocks all season. Koscielny on the other hand has made 22, with Mertesacker putting his body on the line 15 times.

Not only are the two Arsenal defenders key to the Gunners’ defensive stability, they start many of the Emirates Stadium side’s attacking moves. Mertesacker has made a whopping 1510 successful passes, while Koscielny has 1045 in comparison to Kompany’s 854.

Advertisement

But it’s not just the statistics that show better performances from the Arsenal centre-backs. One might argue in favour of Kompany’s presence in the Team of the Year by stating that City have indeed won more games than the Gunners. While that is true, that may not be solely because of his presence in the starting eleven. Overall, Manchester City have better players all over the park.

Advertisement

Vincent Kompany does definitely lead the Citizens by example, but it’s not just him that inspires the team to play well. The Etihad Stadium side are blessed with natural leaders such as Kompany, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and David Silva. It is not primarily because of Kompany that City play well, but because they have leaders all over the park.

Advertisement

On the other hand, Arsenal lack such a leader either up front or in the middle of the pitch, with the exception of maybe Mikel Arteta. At the back, however, their centre backs constantly attempt to inspire those around them.

One also forgets that had it not been for Arsenal losing a number of key players between Christmas and Easter, this season could still be witnessing a four-horse race for the title.

Advertisement

While Mertesacker is the epitome of calm at in the heart of the Arsenal rear guard, he is also the orchestrator of the Gunners’ defence. He can often be found screaming instructions to his team mates and ordering them to take up the right positions because his ability to read the game is rivalled by very few centre backs in the Premier League.

Advertisement

Mertesacker is able to take command of Arsenal’s defence because he knows he can rely on sparky players like Koscielny to dispossess the opposition of the ball. Koscielny represents bravery, as exemplified by his willingness to slide in on a player and more often than not, come out of the tackle with the ball in his possession, inspiring those around him to do the same.

Advertisement

Come the end of the season, Vincent Kompany may well lift his second Barclays Premier League title, but the efforts of players such as Mertesacker and Koscielny have unfortunately been overlooked by the Professional Footballers Association.

Modern-day football requires that centre-backs continually add more to their game, and much has been made of Kompany being a complete modern-day centre back. While there is little doubt that he is indeed one, Mertesacker and Koscielny are as skilled as he is and have at times outshone him. Truth be told, at least one of the two deserves to be in this season’s PFA Team of the Year.

Gautam Viswanathan has a very simple dream: he wants to commentate at the finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A die hard football fan, Gautam's love for the game borders on the fanatical. Give him a choice between an all-expenses paid trip to Europe and Champions League final tickets and he will choose the latter without the slightest flicker of hesitation. see more

Latest News

Find us on YouTube

Subscribe

Top Shows

Vantage First Sports Fast and Factual Between The Lines