Arsenal: Catching up with the January exits

Francis Coquelin to Valencia (£10.6M)

Suffering from an injury early in the season, Francis Coquelin struggled to break into the Arsenal’s starting eleven. No longer needed, he got a move to Valencia in Spain as he searched for regular football.

Valencia, currently fourth in La Liga, are having a fantastic season with Geoffrey Kondogbia and Dani Parejo playing in a midfield-two in a 4-4-2 formation. Coquelin joins a team already with a solid starting pair in midfield but has still seen plenty of opportunities to play. He has joined Kondogbia and Parejo to make a three-man rotation for the two starting positions, and has even started at center-back against Real Madrid filling in for another former Arsenal man, Gabriel Paulista.

Throughout his time at Arsenal, Coquelin failed to score a single goal. His lack of scoring prowess became a light-hearted joke for fans, but, at Valencia, he has gotten off the mark through only seven appearances. He headed in a goal at the near-post against Malaga earning Man of the Match honors, per WhoScored. The goal tied the game 1-1 in the 80th minute leading to a 2-1 victory for Los Che.

Aside from his goal, Coquelin has been a welcome addition to Valencia’s squad. His weakness was always his distribution and ability to keep the ball under pressure. In La Liga, teams typically press less aggressively compared to Premier League teams, so if he can bring his trademark energy and make the sensible pass, there is every reason to believe he will be successful at Valencia. He has performed well so far and has added much-needed depth to the squad and with Kondogbia currently out with a foot injury, he can expect an ample amount of first-team football.