Francis Coquelin Suffers Hamstring Injury vs. Bournemouth
Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin is set for a spell on the sidelines after he suffered what appeared to be a hamstring injury against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Gunners midfielder was forced off late in the second half of Arsenal's meeting with Bournemouth—where they led 3-0—and The Mirror's John Cross gave an update on Coquelin's state:
Manager Arsene Wenger has utilised the Frenchman in his engine room since his return from a loan at Charlton Athletic in 2014-15. Coquelin has stayed in contention for the Arsenal XI despite last summer's signing of Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach.
WhoScored.com statistics show the 26-year-old averaged 2.5 tackles per game last season, the best ratio of any player who made at least five appearances for the Gunners in 2016-17.
Mohamed Elneny could deputise in a similar anchoring role to the one Coquelin usually occupies, while Aaron Ramsey will also be expected to pick up the slack.
Coquelin's injury also means he now looks likely to miss the upcoming matches against Cologne in the Europa League on Thursday and Chelsea in the Premier League next Sunday, with the north Londoners' title prospects liable to be hurt by his absence.
