Although Arsene Wenger has made some fantastic defensive moves during his time as Arsenal manager (just look at the signing and re-signing of Sol Campbell and the manner in which he was able to prolong the career of Tony Adams and co), he has also shown himself to be a man capable of making huge mistakes with his defensive unit.

For those fans with short memories, there may not be that much terror awakened by the mere mention of the name Pascal Cygan, but for Gunners fans who have actually been to a few games, or even just watched on television as Cygan attempted to demonstrate just how bad he could be, the utterance of his name is enough to induce a level of panic that could pose a serious health threat.

However, all that was forgotten following the replacement of Cygan with Senderos, a player who had a decent first season with the Gunners and one who looked like he might be a player who could help the Arsenal back line propel the club to silverware for years to come, and look what happened there.

Now, with the Arsenal betting once again suggesting the side are set for a title challenge, fans must fear that history is repeating itself with new arrival Laurent Koscielny. For Koscielny, the start was bad, the follow up was pretty terrible, and the most recent performance in the league saw the player decide to singlehandedly grant Bolton a goal. The Sunderland betting suggests Arsenal should continue their good start to the season at the weekend, but they cannot afford any slips at the back.

With this in mind, it is worrying for Arsenal fans that their best defender by some distance, Thomas Vermaelen, is going to be out with an injury problem for quite some time. Should Koscielny successfully up his game and show that Wenger has not made a massive defensive mistake over the summer, the Gunners could well be a surprise contender for the title. However, should he continue in his current vein of form, the Gunners will instead be left ruing another trophyless season.

(Ed’s note – it’s all about opinions I guess. Granted the new boy did not cover himself in glory for the Blackburn goal, and the header that led to the Bolton goal was not his finest moment. But, aside from a feeling the player needs to bulk up, most Gooners think that Koscielny may turn out to be a decent buy at this stage, and I don’t think he is perceived as a liability. I guess a few more errors could change that though…)