Pain in the Arsenal
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Why Francis Coquelin is still miles from Patrick Vieira

By Josh Sippie

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Francis Coquelin was an absolute star-turned last season. The Frenchman returned from loan at Charlton Athletic to become a bonafide enforcer in the middle of the pitch. Given his initial disciplinary problems on the pitch and the manner in which he exerts his authority, it is no wonder why the comparison was immediately made to Patrick Vieira.

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Arsenal had long lacked any sort of physicality in the midfield, whereas the Arsenal that notched the Invincible year was built on that physicality. For that reason it made sense that fans were screeching like banshees for a midfield enforcer. Of course, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that physicality was widely spoken out against as well, with fans complaining that the team was too nasty and often threw caution to the wind.

Either way, the Invincible season quashed those outcries and made it an established fact that Arsenal needed physicality. After all, they needed to model every squad after the Invicibles – a daring proposition seeing as how the season was an impossibility.

Francis Coquelin seemed to be the answer, as he defends the midfield with the same gusto that Patrick Vieira did.

That being said, Francis Coquelin is still miles away from inspiring the same fear that Vieira did, but that is not because of any defensive misgivings.

Francis Coquelin does not have the same overall ability that Vieira did. Patrick Vieira possessed the ability to seize a game by the scruff of the neck, slap it around and watch as the match molded to his desires. But Vieira did not do that with his defensive abilities alone.

The bargain-priced bruiser had a knack for notching crucial goals as well, something that Francis Coquelin has not even hinted at. Coquelin will attempt a long, probing pass from time to time but those usually fall into the hands of a waiting keeper.

Patrick Vieira and Francis Coquelin are two completely different players, and Gunner supporters are doing Le Coq no favors by comparing the two. Of course, it does not help when Coquelin himself comes out and says that his goal is to be the next Vieira. “I’m not going to say to you I am (the new Vieira), obviously I want to be but I think it’s down to the performance,” he said, as reported by the Metro.

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Vieira scored 29 goals in 279 career Arsenal appearances. In his last five years with the club, he always netted at least three and twice scored seven.

As it currently stands, Francis Coquelin is expected to score a nice, round zero goals (via WhoScored.com).

Again, there is nothing wrong with that, but the fact remains that with a lack of any real offensive game, Le Coq is a one-dimensional player. Patrick Vieira never was.

In time, Coquelin could develop his offensive game. But given that by this time in his career, Vieira had 10 goals for the Gunners, Le Coq has a lot of ground to make up.

Next: 5 reasons to be excited about Welbeck's return

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