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Francis Coquelin Deserves to be an Arsenal Starter in 15-16

By Rohan Subramanian

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Arsenal fans have recently been calling for the signing of Morgan Schneiderlin, Lars Bender, William Carvalho, or another big-name defensive midfielder. Realistically, all of these options would cost upwards of £15 million, which I think is too much.

Looking at the current squad, I believe we have exactly what we need in the holding midfield, at least in the starting lineup: Francis Coquelin. As you will soon see, I rate him so highly that you shouldn’t be surprised if this article takes shades of an ode to le Coq.

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Since the first big game in which he started, a 2-1 win over West Ham, the media has told his story over and over again. Everything from his days as a youth player at Arsenal to his time at the French club Lorient, followed by a spell at the German side Freiburg. Then, this season he was loaned out to Charlton, but was called back by Arsène Wenger due to a dearth of defensive midfield players. (A more in-depth account for those interested.)

Since his first appearances following his recall from Charlton, the Frenchman has been nothing short of fantastic.

2015 has contained long spells where Wenger’s men have performed consistently at an extremely high level, and none of this would have been possible without the work of Coquelin. In my opinion, his call-up was more important than any other factor that saw Arsenal pick up 28 out of a possible Premier League 30 points, beginning with the Leicester match at home in February up until the win at the KC Stadium in May.

And his performances were not only stellar against small teams; Coquelin did not shy away in big games, and his stats reflected it. Let’s take the example of Arsenal’s 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium in January, where Santi Cazorla got much of the acclaim from pundits. But it was the defensive work of Coquelin that not only shut out the defending champions on their own soil, but also allowed the likes of Cazorla to get forward with such confidence.

Looking at his performance in that convincing victory that ended City’s 12-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, it’s easy to see why he had one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt. In fact, his player rating from that game was extremely high, such as Arseblog’s awarding of 9/10 for his efforts.

Le Coq’s statistics from the match reflect his outstanding performance: 3 out of 3 successful tackles, 6 interceptions, a perfect 11/11 clearances, 4/5 in aerial duels, one excellent block, and 10 ball recoveries. (Diagram and all statistics are courtesy of FourFourTwo StatsZone.)

It was his first colossal performance in a big match, and apart from his strength, determination, and some glaringly obvious physical attributes, he showed himself to be a truly intelligent player. Take a look at this video of Coquelin recognizing the play, anticipating the pass, and coming out with an interception.

The Guardian’s Barney Ronay, who wrote an article on the match describing Coquelin’s performance as a masterclass, describes the Frenchman as “snapping and intercepting and above all showing no ambition to do anything other than occupy, energetically, that shielding space.” Additionally, he characterized it as “a performance of intelligence and brawn in exactly the place Arsenal have so clearly needed both.”

This brings us to another reason why Coquelin’s emergence has been so important: circumstance. At a time when Arsenal had no viable options in the defensive midfield role, Arsenal’s desperation and the surprise factor worked in the favor of the 24-year-old, simply contributing to his stellar on-field performances, as he became one of the stories of the Premier League season.

Now, it really annoys me when people say that he isn’t good enough for the 2015-16 season.

Why not?

Coquelin was able to do it for about half a season, and besides an injury, I don’t see what will stop him from continuing to be Arsenal’s rock in the midfield. In the latter half of the 2014-15 season, Coquelin was one of the best — if not the best — holding midfielders in the league. This was at a time when Matic’s form was dipping, when Schneiderlin slightly declined with Southampton, and when Yaya Touré was not at his best. Still, Coquelin showed with his performances that he is up there with the best destroyers that the Premier League has to offer.

Additionally, Coquelin has shown that he is perfectly happy to do exactly what he is needed for, which is be a danger on the defensive side of the ball, breaking up play, without a desire to go forward and get goals.

This is another of my favorite aspects of Coquelin’s game: he knows his role, which Thierry Henry showed best. Essentially, Coquelin is aware of the fact that he has players like Alexis, Cazorla, and Özil ahead of him, so he knows his presence is best used if it is almost solely on a defensive level. From this perspective, he is to me one of the most selfless players in the Arsenal squad.

And then there’s his passion. Need proof? Look no further than le Coq celebrating Monreal’s goal at Old Trafford. That is how much he cares, how much he wants his team to win, and from a manager’s standpoint, that is invaluable.

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There’s more: he brings the toughness that Arsenal have supposedly been lacking in the past few years. Coquelin is fearless, always willing to get stuck in, and he has a high pain threshold, as shown by his continuing on the pitch with multiple nose injuries. Again, another massive quality to have.

Judging by the last seven months, I believe that Francis Coquelin has earned his spot in Arsenal’s starting lineup for the 2015-16 Premier League season. People aren’t satisfied with a player unless he comes with a high price tag, and that is superficially overlooking everything Coquelin has done in the past season.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t think we shouldn’t buy anyone for that role. As I said earlier, Schneiderlin and Carvalho seem too expensive for me, but I wouldn’t be against a cheaper player to serve as cover in case there is an injury in the defensive midfield position. And sure, competition for Coquelin is healthy, so that less expensive signing could challenge Coquelin for his spot.

But for now, benching the Frenchman immediately does not do justice to his passion, his effort, his unselfishness, his toughness, and most importantly, his form. His overall contribution to Arsenal has been immense, and he should get the appearances to show for it.

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