Arsene Wenger reckons Sead Kolasinac is possibly the strongest player he has ever worked with — and a reason Arsenal will not get bullied at Stoke this time.

Tough defender Kolasinac is already becoming a cult figure among Gunners fans because of his hardman reputation, and seems to be a throwback to the days men like Patrick Vieira and Martin Keown played for the north Londoners.

Arsenal have a record of getting outmuscled at Stoke in recent seasons, but manager Wenger believes they are now more experienced and can mix it physically.

Asked about Kolasinac, he said: “Maybe he is the strongest (I have worked with).

Kolasinac is a throwback to the days Vieira and Keown made opponents' lives a misery (
Image:
Daily Mirror)

"He is naturally strong. He uses quite well the strength of his body without violence and when he intervenes it doesn’t look to be a foul, he just uses his body strength. It is an important quality to help adapt to the Premier League.

“He has the capacity to repeat runs, and we noticed when we watched him play that he is quite dangerous in the final third.

"He already has some assists since he came here, so overall maybe he is not a glamorous dribbler but the quality of his runs are very efficient. The determined attitude gets to the crowd and that gives something to the team, you can see that with him and when he intervenes he provokes happiness.

The 24-year-old scored in his official Arsenal debut against Chelsea at Wembley... (
Image:
Action Plus/Getty)
...then added an assist in last week's season-opening win over Leicester (
Image:
Getty)

"There is something there and you feel that from the crowd.

“We conceded too many goals last year but I did not have the feeling [it was] especially because we were bullied.

“When we built the stadium we had to sell players, and we played with very young players. And at 18, 19, when we played Fabregas or Nasri they were very young and did not have the experience to deal with that so much.

“We had less-physical players on top of that maybe — but most of the time it was because we had a very young team.”

Arsenal had won just once in eight league visits to Stoke before May's 4-1 victory (
Image:
Action Images)

Kolasinac scored at Wembley in the Community Shield a fortnight ago and provided an assist in Arsenal’s opening Premier League win over Leicester last Friday.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international - who can operate at left wing-back or in central defence - signed on a free transfer after his contract at German side Schalke expired, and Wenger believes that will increasingly be the way forward for clubs.

He added: “Watching him, I thought he had the quality. I met him and he had a good spirit and a good attitude so basically it was a no-brainer for us.

“It is a nice bargain yes and you might find it more and more.

"I have said it many times, that more and more players will go to the end of their contract because the transfer fee is too high, the inflation is too high and the agents will be demanding and clubs will not be in a position to extend contracts.”

Arsenal won 4-1 at Stoke on the run-in last season — their first there since February 2010 — but Wenger is set to again be without Alexis Sanchez as he returns from a groin problem.

The Chilean striker is back in training though, and should be fit to face Liverpool at Anfield next Sunday.

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