Arsenal: Francis Coquelin Still Has His Indisputable Uses

Francis Coquelin has come under a lot of criticism recently. Many are calling for his departure from Arsenal in the summer, but the Frenchman may still have a role to play.

In the past few weeks there have been calls from pundits, fans and even members of Pain in the Arsenal, to sell Francis Coquelin this upcoming transfer window. While he has endured a difficult campaign to date, poor form should not merit an immediate sale.

Coquelin arrived at the club as a promising youngster but a spell of unsuccessful loans hindered his development. The Frenchman was often played out of position in his tender years. And few would have envisioned him being a senior squad regular.

Yet when Arsenal were suffering from their annual injury crisis a few years back, Coquelin returned from a loan spell and had an immediate effect. The midfielder bought some much-needed bite to the middle of the park and helped Arsenal to harden their increasingly soft centre.

Coquelin became a master at breaking up the play, allowing the more technical players to instigate attacks. He was a favourite of fans for his bullish nature and Arsenal finally seemed to have some sort of a Patrick Vieira replacement.

The peak of his power came when operating next to Santi Cazorla in a midfield tandem. Their combination of bruise and brilliance dominated opposition midfielders. Yet since Cazorla’s injury worries heightened, Coquelin’s form has also seemed to drop off.

The Frenchman started the season well enough next to Cazorla. But when operating next to other midfielders – Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and even Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – he has looked more limited. His lack of ball playing abilities are more exposed in the absence of the magician Cazorla and has even been caught out defensively during counter attacks.

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This has led to a fall in first team opportunities of late. Coquelin used to be one of the first names on the team sheet, yet is now struggling for minutes. Despite this, I still believe Coquelin can be useful within our squad and should not be sold this summer.

Coquelin may not be a solid starter but brings something unique to our side. Say what you want about his technical abilities, but his defensive prowess cannot be undermined. A monster in the slide tackle and never shy of a challenge, Coquelin still brings the fight that the rest at Arsenal often lack.

If Arsenal were to sell Coquelin, who would take over the defensive midfield mantel, even if it is only late on in games? Xhaka, Ramsey and the Elneny (despite their talent) have shown an inability to protect the back four properly. If we were leading 2-1 with 10 minutes to go, I wouldn’t hesitate to bring Coquelin on above the aforementioned trio.

Coquelin is the perfect player to bring on to protect a lead. Not only does he support the required defensive effort. He also is a big communicator within our ranks (another quality a lot of our squad currently lacks).

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If you have been paying attention you will have realised something. I have mentioned two qualities Coquelin possesses that the majority this club don’t – defensive fight and communication skills. And that’s precisely the point. Coquelin may not be a multi-dimensional super midfielder but he has his uses. If Arsenal were to sell him this summer, many fans will eat their words next season…

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