Francis Coquelin's Resurgence Could Destabilise Arsenal's Transfer Policy

It’s no coincidence that Arsenal have failed to break into the Premier League’s top two since the departure of Patrick Vieira in 2005—the club’s critical, destructive presence in midfield. 

Since the Frenchman swapped London for Turin, the Gunners have lacked a truly world-class defensive midfielder—save for Gilberto Silva, who left in 2008.

Arsene Wenger’s approach to the position has been an ineffective assemblage of substandard transfers and square pegs in round holes.

Mathieu Flamini is currently enjoying his second spell at the club, but now aged 31, his best years are behind him. A relatively meagre three caps for France, the last of which came in 2008, serve as ample proof that he simply isn’t the calibre of player required by a team with championship ambitions.

Abou Diaby has threatened to be the player Arsenal need for the duration of his time with team, but his abject injury record has reached the point where the Gunners can no longer factor him into their plans. He has made just 16 league appearances in the last three full seasons and has yet to feature this season at all.

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The club have a busy physio room at the best of times, and the synergy required between a defensively-minded midfielder and both the defense and rest of midfielders means that fitness and reliability are critical. The success of Arsenal’s “Invincibles” team was predicated by the consistency of team selections, with Vieira and Silva making 29 and 32 league appearances, respectively.

Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla have all deputised in a deeper role, but none possess the traits of a true midfield destroyer. Prior to his departure to Barcelona in 2012, Alex Song occasionally performed the role, despite being more of a box-to-box player than a dedicated anchor due to his lack of positional discipline.

Wenger’s consistent neglect of this position has been puzzling to say the least, particularly given the success that he had with Silva and Vieira as a central midfield partnership.

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Diaby’s presence in the squad has given him some excuse to avoid investing, but with the former Auxerre man looking set to leave in the summer, as suggested by Matt Morlidge of the Daily Mail, it appeared that he would finally be forced to resolve this obvious deficiency in the squad.

That was until the emergence of an unlikely player. Francis Coquelin’s Arsenal career appeared to be over before it had ever really begun at the start of the season. Like so many other promising products of the club’s venerated academy, Coquelin had been repeatedly shipped out on loan in order to gain first-team experience.

An underwhelming spell at Freiburg was followed by him joining Charlton Athletic at the start of this season. Despite performing relatively well in an average team, for Coquelin (who turns 24 this season), it appeared that the curtain was coming down on his time at the Emirates Stadium.

Recalled in December as injury cover, he has won a place in the team off the back of several impressive performances. WhoScored.com currently rates him as Arsenal’s best defensive player this season.

The danger for Arsenal is Coquelin’s resurgence could lead to Wenger once again overlooking this critical position. Although he has performed admirably, the fact Wenger was ready to let him leave the club for free just months ago, per the club's website (via Goal.com), raises questions about whether he is truly capable of being a starter in a team with Arsenal’s ambition.

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If Coquelin is merely in the midst of a purple patch, flush from his unexpected chance to prove himself to Wenger, then seeing him as a long-term solution will leave Arsenal in a similar situation as they find themselves in currently with Diaby; an excuse not to look at the issue in the cold light of day.

Even if Coquelin can confound Wenger’s pre-season expectations and prove a talent worthy of a top-four team, there’s still a strong case to be made that Arsenal need another physical presence in the centre of the park to give them some much-needed steel and help transition the play.

Wilshere is arguably the best candidate for this role, but his injuries and slightness mean he isn’t particularly well suited to it.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with Morgan Schneiderlin and Sami Khedira, as noted by Lee Hurley at Metro, while they also have rumoured interest in Ilkay Gundogan, according to Bild (h/t the Mirror). All three are capable of filling a more attacking (yet still physical) role, leaving Coquelin to do what he does best and sit in front of the back four. Should Wenger get one of these alleged targets, it could be the most robust midfield pairing since the days of Silva and Vieira.

Gunners fans must hope Wenger recognises Coquelin isn’t the be-all and end-all.