Arsenal: Mid-Season player rankings

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BELGRADE, SERBIA – OCTOBER 19: Filip Stojkovic (L) of Crvena Zvezda is challenged by Francis Coquelin (R) of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League group H match between Crvena Zvezda and Arsenal FC at Rajko Mitic Stadium on October 19, 2017 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images) /

18. Francis Coquelin

This man right here is the embodiment of raw, unbridled passion. He wants nothing more than to help his team succeed. The problem is that he is like an rambunctious wrecking ball that lacks any sort of technical nous.

And by that I mean he is actually much better at completing a slide tackle from eight yards on a moving target as he is of completing a pass from eight yards to a stationary target. Which isn’t a testament to his ongoing place at the club.

Coquelin is a defensive stalwart – albeit rather wreckless – and he is a master of winning the ball back, but much like Ozil, except on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, for a club like Arsenal, you have to be able to do more than one thing, and Coquelin can’t. He can win the ball back, but ask him to push forward, pass, dribble, shoot or, God forbid, even just take his intensity down a notch and he shorts out like Windows 7 on a Macintosh 128K.

This year has only reinforced that point. Injuries aside, he has not even come close to threatening the starting XI and what’s the point of a player if he can’t even do that?

(Andy: 17th; Josh: 18th)

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