Arsenal: Time to re-evaluate central midfield

There are plenty of questions regarding Arsenal’s personnel, but the central midfield position needs addressing. It needs change.

To clarify, this argument does not revolve around the futures of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey. While the pair has their deficiencies, both are of the desired Arsenal quality. The same cannot be said for Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny.

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Coquelin and Elneny are nice players. Both have specific skills that would render them useful to another team. But their shortcomings cannot be overlooked. While Xhaka is not someone that we should consider selling anytime soon, there is no doubt that his play in the Premier League has been inconsistent. The fact that neither Coquelin or Elneny have been able to capitalise on his erratic performances speaks volumes.

Coquelin’s passion and athleticism are incredibly appealing, however, his technical ability is inadequate. Elneny could run all day, but his detriment is the fact that he lacks a speciality. His passing is too safe and conservative; his creativity is dimmed by his reservations, resistant to risk, or reward.

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External solutions may be the way to address this issue. I would personally love either Geoffrey Kondogbia or Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. But let us not forget that we have two incredibly promising players on the outskirts in the form of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock.

Whenever I think of Maitland-Niles, my mind immediately recalls his fantastic performance in central midfield against Southampton in the FA Cup last season. Since then, he’s mostly been utilised as a left wing-back, as Arsenal lack adequate depth at the position. That is a shame. His most natural position is a central one, and while it has been beneficial for him to play in the first team, especially more recently in the Premier League, I would have liked to have seen more opportunities in midfield. Willock, meanwhile, reminds me a lot of Abou Diaby. Tall, striding, with a surprise element of grace and elegance on the ball. I would like to see more of him; I’m incredibly intrigued by his potential.

Arsenal need to add some muscle to their midfield. They don’t match up particularly well against the starting midfielders of other top six teams. On that basis, Maitland-Niles and Willock may not currently be the players that are required

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Nonetheless, that does not mean two players with capped abilities should be allowed to scupper the development of unknown quantities. Elneny and Coquelin, while reliable and solid, are restricting and limited. Maitland-Niles and Willock are exciting and intriguing, with a far higher ceiling than either of their senior counterparts. I hope they get more opportunities in the future.