3 reasons Sead Kolasinac shouldn’t be part of any overhaul

Mikel Arteta is supposedly planning his first Arsenal overhaul and while it’s underwhelming, it includes Sead Kolasinac. Here are three reasons it shouldn’t.

Headlines these days are talking about an “overhaul” that Mikel Arteta is planning at Arsenal. Of course, overhaul is a big word, so you might have been expecting something monumental, as I was, but in fact, it’s rather timid. Except for the inclusion of Sead Kolasinac.

It’s a five-person overhaul, with the other four names being Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Mohammed Elneny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Yeah, like I said, underwhelming. Overhaul means big-time changes, not selling dead weight.

But Sead Kolasinac is far from dead weight, and I’m less than enthused that he’s being lumped in with these other guys. In fact, I’m so unenthused by it that I’ve concocted this list of three reasons why Kolasinac should not be a part of this, or any, overhaul. Even any sort of actual overhaul.

Anyway, let’s get into those three reasons, starting with No. 3.

3. You can’t put a value on grit

Well, I guess you can. But that value makes Kolasinac well worth keeping all on its own. His grittiness and determination were so welcome at the Emirates when he first arrived that it felt like a seismic shift. Gone were the days of the Gunners playing soft, not having anyone capable of holding their own in a fight.

In were the days of the Bosnian Hulk, Bosnian Tank, Bosnian Bulldozer, whatever you wanted to call him, there was a GIF on Twitter for it.

We still need that grit. Just ask Mesut Ozil (sorry, had to get that in there). Kolasinac is a trooper, he’s a fighter, and he’s the kind of guy you want on your side in tough matches because I’ll bet any amount of money that he’s tougher than the other guy.

Other than him, we don’t have much of it. Granit Xhaka has a decent amount. So does David Luiz. But Kolasinac is the king of the gritty. And I don’t want to go back to being pawns again.

Next up, No. 2.