Why Francis Coquelin Could Be the Real Loss for Arsenal at West Brom

The defeat 2-1 is bad enough. Presented with a second successive opportunity to go top of the Premier League, Arsenal once again fell short. After dropping two points at home to Tottenham, they went one better by losing all three to West Brom on Saturday. This was despite taking the lead through Olivier Giroud.

However, two further injuries have rubbed salt into the wound. Arsenal’s annual injury crisis kicked things up a gear with the loss of two more midfielders. One player’s absence in particular would create genuine cause for concern: Francis Coquelin.

After the game, Arsene Wenger delivered the team’s latest fitness bulletin, per Arsenal.com:

"We have two more injuries. One is a muscle problem for [Mikel] Arteta and the other one is a knee problem and I don’t know how serious that is but we will know certainly tomorrow, for Coquelin. Arteta is a calf."

The way Coquelin picked up the injury tells you everything about his game. As a ball spun loose in the midfield, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the challenge. From the sidelines, it looked as if the chances of injury were as high as the chances of a booking from the official.

Sure enough, he limped away from the tackle clutching at his knee. While we’re still awaiting an official update from the club, some form of ligament damage seems possible. Coquelin’s potential absence could extend from weeks into months.

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That would be a disaster for Arsenal. His combative style makes him almost unique among Wenger’s options. Since coming into the team last season, the effect of his aggressive approach has been quite extraordinary.

Coquelin is arguably the one player in the squad for whom there is no suitable replacement. Many fans wanted Wenger to acquire a player to provide cover and competition in the summer, but instead the Gunners boss chose to hand a contract extension to Mikel Arteta.

The folly of that decision was exposed at the Hawthorns. The Spaniard endured a nightmare cameo before departing with an injury on his own. In his time on the field Arteta was comprehensively outrun and outfought by the West Brom midfield, and he topped it all off with an own goal.

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However, it’s his injury that is most worrying. For the past 12 months the club captain has been plagued by calf and ankle problems, and they show little sign of slowing. When your supposed cover is perennially injured, you’re reliant on the first-choice player remaining fit. In holding midfield, Arsenal are currently without either.

So Arsenal’s prayers will currently be for Coquelin’s swift recovery. In the short term, Mathieu Flamini is likely to be used as his replacement. However, it remains to be seen whether his partnership with Santi Cazorla will offer the same balance and security as Wenger’s first-choice pairing. Another option worth exploring could be Calum Chambers: The young Englishman has primarily been used as a centre-half this season, but he played in midfield during his teenage years in Southampton’s academy.

Whatever happens, Wenger must find a solution. Losing Coquelin for an extended period could be far more costly than losing one game at West Brom.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.