Theo Walcott has branded Arsenal’s new signing Sead Kolasinac “an absolute animal” and believes the defender could become one of the best in the Premier League.
Kolasinac marked his debut with the equalising goal as the Gunners won Sunday’s Community Shield at Wembley on penalties following a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Wembley.
The 24-year-old joined the club in June on a free transfer after six years at Schalke, during which time he earned a variety of nicknames including ‘The Destroyer’, ‘The Tank’ and ‘The Bosnian Hulk’.
He has wasted little time impressing his new team-mates as Walcott explained. “Honestly, he is an absolute animal,” said the Arsenal forward.
“He’s incredible. I see him in the gym every day, you can just tell he looks after himself well, he eats the right food and he’s professional. You can see the power he’s got when he’s got the ball, his pace and everything. It’s beautiful to watch and he’s a great addition to the squad.
“He’s not easy to get around – he’s quite wide as well. He fits perfectly for the Premier League, he’s absolutely perfect. He’s going to show something different, I’ve seen glimpses of him in pre-season and he’s going to get fitter, stronger and quicker. This league is the best and I think he could be one of the best in this league.”
Kolasinac only featured against Chelsea due to a head injury sustained in the 32nd minute by Per Mertesacker but he enhanced his case to start Friday’s Premier League clash against Leicester City, a game which assumes extra importance given Arsenal poor recent record first up.
The Gunners have won just one of their last seven matches on the opening weekend and Walcott urged supporters to stay united behind the team as they continue to develop a 3-4-2-1 system - several games last term were played out in what manager Arsene Wenger described as a “horrendous” psychological environment.
“Every season we tend to start the league not so well and being a Friday night I think a night game might be better for us,” he said. “It’s a bit different, it’s new for us, the fans will be up for it obviously.
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“The home support will be so key this season. You’ve got to be patient sometimes with this formation we’re playing, you play a different style of football, that’s what we’re learning still and we’re getting better.
“I think we showed it today, we managed to stop Chelsea playing the football they tend to do when they it out to the full-backs, we stopped them very well and we’d worked on that. It’s exciting and that’s what we want to do, we just want to play football.”