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'Kolasinac is a nightmare to play against!'

Just in case you were in any doubt, we can confirm that Sead Kolasinac is “a nightmare” to play against. 

Ainsley Maitland-Niles confirmed what the likes of Chelsea, Bournemouth and Cologne already know after another powerhouse display from the big Bosnian transformed our opening Europa League group game.

Kolasinac came off the bench at half-time and volleyed us level within four minutes of the restart. Not only that, Kolasinac’s presence allowed Alexis to get on the ball in more dangerous areas and score the decisive goal against the German side.

“Sead’s been like that since he came in, in the first day in training and every session, he works hard - 100 per cent,” Maitland-Niles told Arsenal Player.

“He’s a nightmare to play against! He’s so strong physically, he’s very clever and he reads the game very well. He’s hard to play against but it makes you a better player, playing against him.”

Maitland-Niles spent the first half on the left flank but shifted into more familiar territory after the break, and we looked solid with the youngster alongside Mohamed Elneny in central midfield.

“It’s more of a natural position for me,” he said. “I just felt more comfortable in the middle of the park and I just tried to do what I do best.

“I think we just started to move the ball a bit slowly in the first half. So a slow start and of course they scored which wasn’t a great thing and we just had to reply to it in the second half.

“The boss just said to keep trying. Everyone knows each other’s abilities and we know we’re good enough to bring the game back so just keep trying, move the ball quicker and that’s what we did.”

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