Is Francis Coquelin the Answer to Arsenal's Midfield Woes or a System Player?

The calls for Arsene Wenger to sign a natural holding midfielder, the perfect foil for the centre of the park to bring balance to a rickety side, have been deafening over the past two years.

Luiz Gustavo, Asier Illarramendi, Sami Khedira, William Carvalho, Nemanja Matic, etc. The list of anchors the club have missed out on in successive transfer windows goes on and on; as it grew and grew, so did the fans' anxiety levels over the gaping hole in the heart of their team's midfield.

Morgan Schneiderlin was the apple of many clubs' eye this January, with the Southampton midfielder putting together a stunning half-season in 2014-15 and impressing in every single area. The link between he and Arsenal—a club that calls "Le Professeur" its managerial overlord—was easy to make and easy to believe; they needed him, he wants to play for a "top club," per The Express, and the money is there.

But Wenger's big move in this position this winter was not to land Schneiderlin for £30 million-plus, nor was it to gamble on a William Carvalho who is only just finding his feet after a rough four months for Sporting CP.

Francis Coquelin began December 2014 on loan at Charlton Athletic; on the sixth day of the month, he played away to Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 draw at the City Ground. Fast-forward just over two months and he's anchoring the midfield against Monaco in the UEFA Champions League latter stages. That's quite the rise in power for the 23-year-old Frenchman and, on paper, a very underwhelming "solution" to the glaring issue at the forefront of Arsenal's issues.

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But Coquelin's been a revelation, locking the disliked Mathieu Flamini out of the team and allowing Gooners to essentially forget that Mikel Arteta has a bad injury. The circumstances in which Coquelin has emerged as the answer are perhaps a little fortuitous—would we be here if Jack Wilshere hadn't picked up a bad injury too?—but the point is: Arsenal look like they've found an answer in a long-time problem position.

So how good is he?

There's a certain amount of trepidation and doubt surrounding a holding midfielder in this position. His introduction to the XI coincided with Wenger's switch from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3, placing a natural anchor in front of the defence and converting to a more reactive style of play.

We've seen countless times—notably with Lucas Leiva at Liverpool—that a good system can produce limited roles for players, and said players can look excellent when carrying out just three or four tasks. Brendan Rodgers' 3-4-2-1 doesn't give Lucas a particularly challenging role, so with less to think about, there are certain aspects where he looks unnaturally strong.

So is Coquelin an outstanding young player and a bit of a late bloomer, or a product of a strong system? The boring answer is: a little bit of both.

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He possesses remarkable defensive instinct and a wonderfully proactive stance when his team are on the ball. He spent the first half against Leicester City closing off channels for Esteban Cambiasso to use when passing to Andrej Kramaric, and he's always an easy option in possession if Santi Cazorla and Co. are struggling to find an outlet.

He crunches into tackles, but fairly—not like Flamini. He doesn't gesticulate wildly with his arms for no reason, but he instead fills gaps quietly and efficiently, bringing balance to the side.

As yet, though, we're yet to see anything offensively impressive from the Frenchman, and that could be the main drawback as he seeks permanent employment in Arsenal's midfield. His passing is tidy and basic and he's safe in possession, but when compared to the elite holding midfielders, he falls understandably short.

Coquelin's rise has been expedited by Wenger's formation switch, and in playing a 4-4-1-1 vs. Monaco, placing Coquelin in central midfield alongside Cazorla rather than behind him anchoring, "Le Prof" pushed his anchor forward and into a flatter role. He didn't prosper.

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He's not getting the blame for an awful team display that night—if anyone is, Per Mertesacker should get it in the neck for waving Les Monegasques' attackers through like the grand marshal at a race track—but he was slow to slide over and contributed little in what was technically an enhanced attacking role.

You look at Matic and why people love him. It's not just for the aerial dominance (which Coquelin lacks) and crunching challenges, but also the remarkable slaloming ability he has when drifting around players and initiating attacks. Schneiderlin, too, boasts a ridiculous passing range; his ability to place it on a six-pence from 50 yards is thoroughly underrated.

Given Coquelin's rapid rise from obscurity, we must allow time for these other facets to develop, or be willing to wait to see if they begin to show. But until such a time, Coquelin will be viewed tentatively, as a system player—despite the true verdict being that he is somewhere in between.

There's a chance he's only a fit at a top club like Arsenal in one area: the exclusive holding position in a 4-3-3. If he can't transfer his skills to slightly nuanced roles in midfield, he'll quickly earn the same tag Lucas Leiva has been branded with and malign will quickly follow.

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