1 Arsenal Player Whose FIFA 16 Stats Underestimate Him

Computer games are eerily realistic today, and none more so than FIFA 16. EA Sports’ sporting masterpiece offers a near-perfect rendition of Premier League football. The graphics, physics and likenesses are truer to life than ever before.

However, it is not entirely without inaccuracy. Every season, the stats given to certain players will infuriate their teams' supporters. There’s nothing more frustrating than taking charge of your favourite team only to discover your player appears bereft of the abilities he shows week in and week out on the field.

Arsenal fans will have that experience in a couple of cases with FIFA 16. Several of their first-team players might feel they have been short-changed by the stats team.

Hector Bellerin, for example, surely deserves better than an overall rating of 74. The young Spaniard, 20, has become one of the most exciting attacking full-backs in Europe yet has a lower rating than, say, unheralded utility player Mathieu Flamini.

However, there’s one Arsenal player whose rating is so low it stands out from all others. In assessing the Gunners squad, the makers of FIFA have hugely underrated Francis Coquelin.

To an extent, that’s understandable: Many Arsenal fans were probably guilty of doing the same.

Few anticipated Coquelin would ever reach the level he’s at now. At the outset of last season, the 24-year-old was a reserve player with no real prospects of regular first-team football. He was even sent out on loan to Championship side Charlton Athletic, and few Gunners supporters expected him to come back.

However, the second half of 2015/16 saw an astronomical rise for the Frenchman. When an injury crisis granted him an opportunity in the first team, he seized it in spectacular fashion. Coquelin hasn’t looked back since. By the time this season began, he was established as one of the first names on Arsene Wenger’s teamsheet.

One would expect that to be recognised in his FIFA 16 stats. However, his overall grading stands at just 78. That’s lower than the veteran pair of Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky, neither of whom plays a major part in Wenger’s plans.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

It’s an absurdly low figure given how important Coquelin has become to the Arsenal team. In reality, starting a game without him would be unthinkable. In the FIFA 16 world, the temptation is to leave him out entirely. Coquelin’s performances deserve better than what EA Sports have given him.

In the case of Bellerin, the makers of the game could argue he is a young player with plenty of potential to grow. However, Coquelin will be 25 before the end of the season. He is a player in his prime and deserves statistics that reflect that.

His ability to intercept the ball has at least been recognised with a mark of 84. Similarly, his capacity to spin away from markers in a congested midfield is demonstrated by a balance rating of 83. His combative spirit is also indicated by an aggression rating of 88. However, aside from that, his numbers are criminally low.

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

Low shooting stats are understandable. Coquelin is no goalscorer and is in fact still awaiting his first senior strike in Arsenal colours. With that in mind, an overall shooting score of 54 is not unreasonable. If there’s an area where his stats were likely to fall down, it’s surely here.

However, his lack of predatory instinct should not be mistaken for any lack of technical ability. In this season’s Premier League, he has a passing accuracy of 91 per cent, a figure unsurpassed in the Arsenal squad. It’s exactly the same ratio as Arteta, who has been afforded a passing rating of 82 by FIFA 16. Coquelin's stands at just 70.

Giving Coquelin just 78 for short-passing is unduly harsh. The Frenchman is very tidy when playing the ball in tight areas of the field, regularly weaving neat triangles with Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey. 

He’s also a better dribbler than he’s given credit for. A mark of 76 compares poorly with Arteta’s 78, yet it’s almost impossible to recall Arteta ever opting to run with the ball. Coquelin, on the other hand, is capable of shimmying between the opposition quite effectively.

He’s no slouch, either. A pace stat of 70 does not do justice to the bursts of acceleration that allow Coquelin to pick up loose balls or close down the opposition. Speed is a vital stat on FIFA 16, and Coquelin’s athletic ability has not been done justice.

ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images

Perhaps most shockingly, his impeccable defensive instincts have not been properly reflected in the game. EA Sports has awarded Coquelin just 72 for marking and 78 for slide tackles.

Those are crazy numbers given the Frenchman is one of the most effective ball-winners in the Premier League. This season, he has made an average of four defensive actions per game, winning 66 per cent of his tackles in the process. Coquelin is a fearsome yet accurate tackler, and that facet of his game ought to be present in a game with aspirations of realism.

He’s also triumphed in 57 per cent of his 14 headed duels. With that in mind, a heading rating of 50 is simply bizarre. There’s no reason Coquelin should be regarded as worse in the air than, for example, forward Joel Campbell.

It’s difficult to ascertain how Coquelin has ended up being rated quite so low by the FIFA 16 stats team. Perhaps his lack of continental reputation is an issue. Although Coquelin is highly valued at Arsenal, he has not yet been recognised on the senior international stage. If his form continues to be as good as it currently is, that first France cap can not be far behind.

That would mean inclusion in the official game for Euro 2016—which will be presented by Konami rather than EA Sports. Perhaps the Japanese developer will be able to produce a more accurate reflection of Coquelin’s underappreciated talents.

All real-world football stats via Squawka.

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.