Having been sent on loan to Charlton in November 2014, Francis Coquelin must have thought his chances of making it at Arsenal were almost non-existent.
He was dropping down a division, he seemed to have an endless succession of midfielders ahead of him in North London and the manager's faith in him was such that he'd been shipped out for the duration of the previous season to Freiburg.
When the call came for him to come back, just before a big game for his temporary club, Coquelin was annoyed because he felt he was only going to be used as cover. Injuries had forced manager Arsene Wenger's hand and Coquelin's initial scepticism would have been strengthened when his first three games saw him enter the fray from the bench in the 87th, 82nd and 88th minutes, respectively.
His first start -- away at West Ham -- wasn't for over two weeks, but on that day he showed qualities that ensured he started every single Premier League match until the end of the season. He stood out away at Man City, and on the day of the FA Cup final, Coquelin put in probably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt.
He was outstanding against Aston Villa, helping to culminate one of the most remarkable football stories of the season. A transfer window swoop where you spend £20m on a player brings you that kind of success; it's not supposed to happen by accident when you're forced into using a player you might have allowed to leave the club if others had stayed fit.
What's particularly interesting is that Coquelin's impact on Arsenal's style of play, and the importance of the job he's done, gives Wenger something to consider in the transfer market this summer. Although Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini can, on paper, provide cover for the Frenchman, neither option is particularly convincing.
He was dropping down a division, he seemed to have an endless succession of midfielders ahead of him in North London and the manager's faith in him was such that he'd been shipped out for the duration of the previous season to Freiburg.
When the call came for him to come back, just before a big game for his temporary club, Coquelin was annoyed because he felt he was only going to be used as cover. Injuries had forced manager Arsene Wenger's hand and Coquelin's initial scepticism would have been strengthened when his first three games saw him enter the fray from the bench in the 87th, 82nd and 88th minutes, respectively.
His first start -- away at West Ham -- wasn't for over two weeks, but on that day he showed qualities that ensured he started every single Premier League match until the end of the season. He stood out away at Man City, and on the day of the FA Cup final, Coquelin put in probably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt.
He was outstanding against Aston Villa, helping to culminate one of the most remarkable football stories of the season. A transfer window swoop where you spend £20m on a player brings you that kind of success; it's not supposed to happen by accident when you're forced into using a player you might have allowed to leave the club if others had stayed fit.
What's particularly interesting is that Coquelin's impact on Arsenal's style of play, and the importance of the job he's done, gives Wenger something to consider in the transfer market this summer. Although Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini can, on paper, provide cover for the Frenchman, neither option is particularly convincing.
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