So long Sead: Reaction as Kolasinac heads to Schalke

So long Sead: Reaction as Kolasinac heads to Schalke

By Adam Le Roux

So, the winter exodus has already begun. Sead Kolasinac's move to Schalke sees the Bosnian become the first man to leave the Emirates in the January transfer window, with the 27-year-old the first in a long line of departures likely to happen this month.

With no Premier League appearances so far this season, it is no surprise to see the defender move back to whence he came, as he returns to Gelsenkirchen after three years in a red and white shirt. 

After 100 appearances for the club, he has more than played his part in his time in London, with the highlight being his 2018 Europa League final appearance despite the defeat to Chelsea in Baku. 

But since the arrival of Kieran Tierney to the Emirates in the summer of 2019, game time has been at a premium for Kolasinac, who can return to the Bundesliga with his head held high. 

Kolasinac doesn't have the quality

The truth of the matter is that the Arsenal squad is too big at the moment, and players need to be offloaded if others are to be brought in, and there will no doubt be casualties along the way.  

Kolasinac has become the first of these, and after only being a bit-part player this term, with appearances in the Europa League and Carabao Cup the only time he has taken to the field, he is not likely to be missed. 

Sadly, there is no place for sentimentality in football, and there comes a time when a club and a player need to go their separate ways and move on, and this seems like the perfect time to do so with the Bosnian. 

The six-month loan deal to the Bundesliga's basement side will work out perfectly for both sides, as Mikel Arteta frees up some room in his match day squad for an extra bit of quality, while the Bosnian takes the armband at the Veltins Arena looking to help his new side to claim a first win of the season, and drag them out of the relegation mire. 

And with Tierney becoming one of the key players of the squad at the minute, as well as Bukayo Saka's impressive performances on the left flank, the Bosnian has been pushed out of the reckoning for Mikel Arteta, as he takes a place on the bench more often than not. 

His departure looks to be a sign of things to come for Arsenal this month, with the boss having to make some tough decisions to trim his bulging squad down, and get rid of some of the deadwood that have been weighing the squad down of late. 

Unfortunately, Kolasinac is one of many in the ranks that falls into this category, with the younger talent outshining him and keeping his game time limited, although technical director Edu seems to have kept the door open for his return to the ranks in the summer. 

“Sead needs to be playing regularly, so we have decided together that a move back to Germany with Schalke will benefit him at this moment,” the Brazilian said. 

“We will be keeping in close contact with Sead, and wish him huge success for the remainder of the season with Schalke.”

Sead's super start soon fizzled out

Things looked so promising when Kolasinac made the move to link up with Arsene Wenger back in 2017, as he found the net on debut in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Community Shield final. 

And with further goals against Cologne in the Europa League and Swansea before the end of the year, Arsenal fans would have been forgiven for thinking they had a marauding goalscoring defender on their hands. 

But after five goals in that first season at the Emirates he has failed to find the net since, and with only eight Premier League clean sheets to his name in the last two seasons, changes had to be made to the backline. 

As solid as he could be in the left-back slot, his ability in the final third has never been brilliant, and with Arteta at the helm, there is more of a responsibility for players to contribute all over the pitch. 

Therefore, an onus on younger, hungrier talent has to become the way forward for the Gunners, and in Tierney and Saka, the have the makings of a lethal combination down the left flank. 

Credit must go to Arteta for getting the business sorted at the quickest possible opportunity, with the move paving the way for further business to be done later in the month.

After a sluggish summer transfer window, the Gunners have been playing catch up for the rest of the campaign, with their lack of new faces at the business end of the pitch proving costly, with a lack of goals one of the main issues blighting their season so far. 

With that in mind, players like Kolasinac have to make way for this new look Arsenal squad to really begin to take shape, and that in itself isn't something that will happen overnight, but it has to start somewhere. 

For all of his strengths, the Bosnian isn't a player who sets himself apart from other players in the league week in, week out, and if Arsenal are going to climb the table anytime soon, these are the sorts of players you can easily leave by the wayside. 

It is no secret that players are going to leave in the next month, with Arteta saying as much before the transfer window opened. 

"We cannot sustain the numbers we have in certain positions,” the Spaniard said last week. 

"There are some players that are going to go on loan and going to leave."

He added: "That is the priority. Then we will see if we have the right opportunity in the positions where we need some more help.”

So it is thank you and goodbye to Sead, he will be fondly remembered for his time in a red and white shirt, but now is as good a time as any to cut him loose, there are better options out there, and Schalke will be better for his arrival.