Francis Coquelin

This is a fantastic article on Coquelin.

http://arseblog.com/2015/04/tactics-column-francis-coquelin-rises-from-the-shadows-to-take-centre-stage/

RealGunner wrote:This is a fantastic article on Coquelin.

http://arseblog.com/2015/04/tactics-column-francis-coquelin-rises-from-the-shadows-to-take-centre-stage/

Great read, agreed on all points. Think his passing and ability to go forward will develop more with time and as we need them to.

He has been fantastic and for a while now I am perfectly comfortable in having him first choice DM next season. He is perfect for what we need. Tackles, breaks up play, mobile, aggressive, recycles the ball well. I'd say there aren't too many DMs in PL that can do what Coquelin can do better.

However I still think we need to buy one more DM for competition. There are a lot of games and we are only one injury away from having Arteta or Flamini starting...

He has been the best DM in the league for sometimes now no doubt, our attack played with such confidence with him behind back up.

Thing is thought that Matic is a CM who also controls his defensive end... very good at helping flow and setting up the attack.

So you can't only look at defensive stats... you need to look at overall impact in the midfield.

Matic is a far superior overall midfielder to Coquelin.

Agreed.

But wait. Isn't that only comparing their defensive contributions? Then it is safe to say that in the context of those stats, Coquelin is a better DM. I guess we knew that already anyway.

I don't know. If Matic only concentrated on ball recovery and defense, he would be better at those statistically. The fact that he takes on more responsibility and covers more ground naturally hurts him.

Would you rather have Coquelin or Matic as a DM? I think the answer is clear.

Fantastic performance and he keeps on improving, but I still think buying Schneiderlein this summer would take our midfield to another level and he simply is a much better player. Coquelin has proven himself to be a reliable player in the midfield and would be useful alongside Schnederlein in closing out tight games next season.

That's a proper debate... Schneiderlin or Coquelin. I think that Schneiderlin is better NOW. But Coquelin has only gotten his chance for the last few months. I think he has the ability to be just as good based on what i saw fir the France youth NTs.

It's a little hard to evaluate, honestly ... Coquelin's had a stellar few months, no one can deny that he's taken his chance impeccably. But then again, he was probably also out in the wilderness for the last couple seasons for a reason.

We know for certain that Matic is a stellar DM. Might take a little more time to fairly evaluate Coquelin and how good he truly is. Three to six months can still be a matter of (really) good form.

That said, both Coq and Matic are known primarily for their defensive role in their respective midfields, and only secondarily for what else they offer. Sportzcy's point is fair, Matic may offer more overall, but I don't think it's skewing things too badly if we compare them on defensive attributes this season.

Coquelin is back from the wilderness because he can play in that 4-1-4-1. I have been less than impressed when he was put in a 2 man deep-midfield. I am guessing that contributed to him being in the wilderness earlier.

He's one who has immensely benefited because of the play-as-many-of-Ramsey-Jack-Santi-Özil-Alexis-as-possible situation which brought in the 4-1-4-1.

Who knew,this guy looks like he might achieve something more than having his name used as an innuendo in relation to a penis every time he sets foot on the field.

We should be comparing Coquelin to Flamini and Arteta not any other DM. It just shows had Wenger bought a proper DM in the summer we would have been challenging for EPL.
Coquelin has been amazing and deserves his spot at Arsenal. We still need a top DM to compete for the #1 spot.

srigooner wrote:Coquelin is back from the wilderness because he can play in that 4-1-4-1. I have been less than impressed when he was put in a 2 man deep-midfield. I am guessing that contributed to him being in the wilderness earlier.

He's one who has immensely benefited because of the play-as-many-of-Ramsey-Jack-Santi-Özil-Alexis-as-possible situation which brought in the 4-1-4-1.

I'd argue that they've benefited just as much, if not more, from having him protecting them from the back, especially Santi.

True that.

http://arseblog.com/2015/04/tactics-column-arsenals-high-press-coquelin-hits/

Coq works well in our system. I am less convinced we need a "star DM" after Coq has clearly shown he can develop into a top player in that role. I'd rather spend 50m on a world class striker than 30m on a world class DM.. if given the choice.

Sneid and Coq together battling for the DM spot seems sufficient to me.

I think more importantly defensively, we need to get a permanent replacement for Mert who unfortunately is just too slow for this system. Paulista may well be the answer but only time will tell.

Big Mert does a more than decent job as a experienced leader at the back. Between him, Koscielny, Gabriel and Chambers, I think we are ok at the back. more so if Isaac Hayden makes it (please ffs!!). Of course, we could always find someone better than any of these guys, but as a unit, they are pretty darn good I reckon. Doing it as a team is what is important in modern football anyway - not having a CB pairing which costs you 100m€ *cough* QSG *cough*

Don't see why so many want BFG out when we have our first decent crop of CBs in years between him Kos, Gabriel and Chambinho.

He's started in most of our games in the last 2-3 months during which we won every game bar, what, two? He's stepped it up after being rushed back into the side from the world cup.

Who is there out there that would be available and a clear and worthwhile upgrade on Per who is already Premiere League proven and a leader at the club? Hummels? Even he isn't definitely available or attainable for much less than a club record fee.

I think rumors linking him away are all talk so that clickbait sites can link us to defenders too.

Another typically stellar read over at Arseblog by Tim Stillman:
_____________________________________
The resurrection of Francis Coquelin has been one of the revelations of 2014-15, not just for Arsenal, but for the Premier League. Rarely does a player rise from a Championship outpost such as Charlton Athletic on loan to become one of the most important components of a top Premier League side. But what does Coquelin’s rebirth tell us about Arsene Wenger’s attitude to the defensive midfield position? For years, supporters have implored him to spend big on a shielding midfielder to supplement the backbone of the team.

For years, he has refused, instead relying on existing internal solutions. The manager has been accused of not holding the role in very high regard and of adopting a ‘make do and mend’ approach. The likes of Arteta, Grimandi, and Denilson have been remoulded or young players such as Alex Song have been entrusted with the position. Already we can see that, when it comes to his holding midfield player, the manager does not really have a preferred type. Assessing the history of players he has used most prominently, Wenger has opted for different moulds.

What is revealing is that he rarely ever buys a ready-made specialist, with the possible exception of Lassana Diarra. Mikel Arteta and Denilson were recalibrated from the number 8 position in midfield. Emmanuel Petit, Gilberto Silva, Gilles Grimandi and even Song were converted centre halves. Mathieu Flamini and Francis Coquelin were both utilised as marauding full backs. In Arteta, Denilson and Petit, he had the deep lying playmaker. In Diarra, Coquelin and Flamini, he used energetic, all action ‘DMs.’ In Gilberto Silva he had ‘the invisible wall’ that went about his business unnoticed. Song was a destroyer who thought that he was a playmaker.

When it comes to defensive midfield, Wenger seems to just work with whatever he finds, so perhaps Coquelin’s rise to prominence shouldn’t surprise us too much. Flamini’s Bildungsroman tale of 2007-08 has many of the hallmarks of Coquelin’s recent rise. What is also notable is that, for Wenger, the defensive midfielder is usually the last piece of his puzzle. Emmanuel Petit was one of the last components of the 1997-98 double team. With the exception of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, Gilberto Silva was the last prominent arrival in the ‘Invincibles’ side. He was signed in 2002, when the germ of that team had been together for a few years already.

Flamini provided the missing link in the 2007-08 setup, with its complementary midfield, consisting of Hleb, Fabregas and Rosicky. Arteta, Denilson, Grimandi and Song were asked to grow into the role following the departures of more prominent players. In recent seasons, the manager has hovered the sword of Damocles over the heads of Xabi Alonso, Yann M’Villa and Morgan Schneiderlin, before electing not to strike. So why do these ‘happy accidents’ keep occurring in the Arsenal engine room? Well, I think the reason is two-fold.

The first part of the answer reveals itself when you look at the players that have enjoyed longevity in the position. Alex Song failed because he began to believe he had outgrown the unglamorous demands of the position. The destroyer function was no longer befitting of ‘Songaldinho’s’ capabilities. Emmanuel Petit basically became a flouncing pain in the manager’s arse with his serial complaints about referees and a banjaxed knee he refused to have surgically repaired.

Lassana Diarra was impatient and petulant, a fit of pique over his Euro 2008 prospects saw him flounce out of the door. A little temperance would surely have seen him minding the Gunners midfield for a good five years. For a man with such a large cranium, Diarra seems to have very little evidence of a brain. Denilson ultimately did not have the character to develop in the cutthroat environs of the Premier League.

Now let us look at the success stories, or at least, those that Wenger would consider to be his success stories. Gilberto Silva and Mikel Arteta are different types of defensive midfield player, but it is in character that the two men are akin. Both are quiet, unassuming, humble and fastidious professionals. These are character traits that go hand in glove with the role. It’s a firefighting position and one has to put the concerns of the team over and above one’s own ego to flourish in it.

When quizzed about Coquelin’s revival recently, tellingly, Wenger said, “He restricted his game and you make success in life with what you’re good at. You don’t have all the qualities but you have to express what you’re good at and he’s good at that.” The manager suggested that Coquelin’s chances had suffered previously because he believed himself to be a more sophisticated player. Basically, his renaissance has been down to the casting aside of ego. This is a key point, Arsene Wenger rated Gilles Grimandi very highly for this reason too.

Upon his retirement, Wenger immediately offered Grimandi a role at the club and remains one of the manager’s most trusted scouts. There were rumours that he was considered for the assistant manager role when Pat Rice retired. Earlier this year, Gilberto Silva revealed that Arsene had offered him the opportunity to start his coaching badges at London Colney. I don’t think any of us would be surprised if the same invitation were extended to Mikel Arteta once his time comes. Neither Grimandi nor Gilberto had / have any experience in a coaching or technical capacity.

Wenger obviously sees their collective mindedness on the field as an asset that will serve them well in coaching. Herein lies the second reason that Wenger rarely parachutes a custom made defensive midfield player into the team. A good defensive midfield player bends to the will of the team. He recognises the team’s strengths and is malleable enough to service them. As supporters, we have probably fetishized a mythical DM to come and transform the will of the team, rather than submit to it. Historically Wenger’s teams settle into a pattern and become cognizant with their own strengths before a defensive midfielder blossoms.

This is often why that player forms the last piece of the puzzle, because his success depends on the team already being shaped and defined. So Coquelin’s success is as much one of timing as it is of form and momentum. He has come into a team that is growing together and beginning to understand one another. Per Mertesacker referred to this recently when he mused that, “Automatisms – when you know players better, especially your partner – are a big part of a footballer’s life.”

This explains why Wenger does not prioritise a ‘type’ of defensive midfield player. Because the best ‘type’ is simply the one that fits the emphasis of your team the best and that doesn’t become clear until that emphasis is defined. Coquelin has recognised this and he would do well to keep the manager’s point about humility in mind. He hasn’t transformed the team per se, what he has done is to recognise its strengths and, in Wenger’s mind, he has transformed himself accordingly. Many defensive midfielders before him have either gotten itchy feet or inflated pride. For Coquelin to continue his ascent, his humility will need to remain intact.

http://arseblog.com/2015/04/dm-dee-em-deeeee-m-dee-m-d-emmmmm/

Francis Coquelin is the new Arsenal king of counter-bling

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/09/francis-coquelin-arsenal-king-counter-bling?CMP=share_btn_tw

This guy just impresses me more and more.

His time at Freiburg sounds awful.

Ffs that moved me to shed a tear.