In 2008 we should have won the Premier League. Why we failed can be argued. The loss of a flying Tomas Rosicky, the Eduardo incident and resulting implosion at St. Andrews, or the resulting loss of the dressing room by then skipper William Gallas.
However, what is certain is that we had an incredibly talented and fluid midfield, with Hleb, Rosicky and Fabregas, playing in a foursome anchored by a certain Matthieu Flamini.
So good was the 2008 ‘French Enforcer’ that he kept the World Cup Winner and ‘Invincible’ Gilberto out of the team. His performances and form behind Fabregas made him undroppable.
The reason for this history lesson is quite simple. I was blown away by the quality of Francis Coquelin last night against Shrewsbury.
He along with Oxlade-Chamberlain stole the show and I am wondering whether it might be Coquelin and not Frimpong pushing Alex Song for the enforcer role this season and further. Don’t get me wrong I love the fact that Frimpong has come through the ranks at Arsenal and I admire his drive, determination and enthusiasm. However, seeing the two talents alongside each other last night it was the Frenchman, rather than the Anglo/Ghanaian, who did it for me. His tackling was crisp and well timed, and his distribution was intelligent and simple when required, but I also counted at least six 25-30 yard cross field balls as well. So do we have a new Flamini style ‘French Enforcer’ in our ranks?
There is little doubt that Arsene Wenger rates him highly, because there was talk of him returning to Lorient on loan or permanently this past summer, but the manager ruled it out. Last year, whilst not an automatic starter in the French top flight, Coquelin did play on 13 occasions for Lorient, scoring once and assisting once also. Let’s bear in mind he was only 19 last year.
Over the summer he starred for France in the Under-20 FIFA World Cup, playing every game (7 in total) on a run that saw France make it to the semi-finals before defeat to Portugal. Now without turning into a complete statto what interested me was that in those 7 matches, in which he played all 90 minutes, he committed 11 fouls, but did not get booked on a single occasion. This would appear to be in stark contrast to the over exuberant Frimpong, whose double yellow and subsequent red, probably cost us two points against Liverpool at the Emirates earlier in the season.
Wenger was certainly delighted with both Coquelin and Oxlade-Chamberlain who he singled out for praise last night:
‘We took a gamble and it worked because you could see some players, who we haven’t seen so much of like Oxlade-Chamberlain and Coquelin, have done extremely well and that is positive for the future.’
I knew about Oxlade-Chamberlain and have absolutely no doubt at all that he has a huge future for Arsenal and England, but before last night I had not really seen Coquelin in the flesh.
I was more than impressed and repeat my contention that he looked a more complete midfielder then Frimpong at this stage. Having said that, we have seen many players shine in the Carling Cup in the past few years and not progress, but I would be interested to hear your views.
Can Coquelin follow in the footsteps of his fellow countryman and become a new ‘French Midfield Enforcer’ in the Arsenal first-team?
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This is the point that has to be driven home to many of the disappointed supporters. The youth system works. Fabregas is such a product. Walcott is such a product, etc. It is unfortunate that many of the excellent players have chosen to leave. I for one am not disappointed. The upcoming youngsters need to show what they can do. Look at it this way. They are Arsenal through and through. Too bad about Fabregas, time to move on.
walcott? Not so sure tbh
22 year old England regular- praised in buckets by the likes of Lionel Messi when he has faced him on the pitch, and I would argue he is our second largest goal threat after Van Persie whoever is playing. I’m tired of Arsenal “fans” knocking our own players when it is completely uncalled for- the guy is 22 and improving all the time and will become a world-class player. Grow up.
AidenGooner. Who is knocking Theo. Not me but I personally want to try 4,4,2 again and play Theo right up top and let RVP be his prompter as Bergkamp was for Thierry. I have written more than one article suggesting this mate.
Yeah…. what Dave said.
We’ve got to keep the current crop of youngsters. With Financial Fair Play the super rich clubs are going to slow right down and our current team and the youth that support it are going to come good. They’ll be the real deal. Weslee is right, it’s a shame to lose Fabregas (and Clichy), but he’s gone and we should move on. Wenger is a genius and if he stays with us the glory days will return. There is no quick fix to our current predicament, the current financial climate, some stubbornness and some bad luck has led us where we are, but its not the end and we will be back.
Good article. Nice to see some positivity. And for the record, I think its going to be Frimpong who does the business for us, but I was nearly swayed by your argument.
Coquelin excelled last night
Frimpong has proven he can handle the EPL week in and week out but Coquelin and AOC have not yet had their baptism in blood. Once they’ve played against Stoke or Bolton and seen the speed, tough tackling and viciousness of the bottom table EPL teams and thrived, then we can compare them to Flamoney,Hleft and Rosickly, who were indeed a great force for AFC in 2008 but were lured elsewhere.
Regarding the EUFA Fairplay rules, with talents like Ryo,AOC,Coquelin,Ignasi,Ozayup,Lansbury and so on, you can be sure we will be tapped up continuously by the big money Clubs for cheap, skilled stars we develop but can’t afford to keep. The Cesc saga has now condemned us to become the bargain warehouse for sugar-daddy European teams who don’t want to develop their own talent or who want to get it cheaply from us by tapping up these kids. Once Real sees the above youngsters in action, it won’t be long before their agents are pushing them as candidates for the bench at the Bernabeu or Shitty. How can any of these kids resist a 200K/week salary at a ¨world¨ class club?
he was the best player on the pitch last night for sure…
Heyy I’m not sure if you actually watched it cuz Chamberlain was MOTM for me and many others
Orly? TBH i felt coquelin was also quality. Seager, uve convince me
the youth ranks gives me more promise as an arsenal fan probably because the potential and opportunities are immense. my attention has been drawn to the reserves and under 21’s for the last 3 or 4 years, and have seen alot of youngsters look like amazing prospects but fail to make their transition (jay emanuel thomas is a perfect example)but one thing has been consistent, when a player has come throught ranks or proved themselves, they are gifted a carling cup place, and or first team opportunities. coquelin looks to be amongst the players like jack wilshire whos chance will materialise into something good. his potential looks massive. but to speak of him alone would be a crime, theres alot of players jack wilshire played with in the reserves as a 16 year old, that are still putting in work in the reserves and are emerging as major prospects. not to forget ryo and chamberlain. i just hope coquelin doesnt go the same route as denilson.
Thanks for all the comments and observations. I would certainly agree that AOC was superb last night but the focus of article was Coquelin. It is crucial that we keep these guys and gradualy integrate them. Certainly on what I have seen to date I would promote AOC, Coquelin and Miquel straight away and then look to Aneke, Afobe and Oz next season.
Miqul must be moved to 4th choice ahead of DJ NOW.
Great Article mate 🙂
yes aneka!
if we are really looking for cesc’s replacement then we have it in aneke.
unfortunately project youth is taking a big set back right now. we wouldn’t be able to see him play this season, well maybe second half of the season.
first team shamble has cost our youth their playtime.
Sam. With you mate. Check ou my piece from 2 weeks back
http://gunnersphere.com/2011/09/view-from-the-sphere/chuks-aneke-the-next-patrick-vieira
Would you say Coquelin’s best precise position is well established yet? I only ask as I have seen him pretty well for us at right back though this was a couple of years ago, while also- the commentator I was listening to last night claimed that for the recent U19 international tournament where France got to the semis, he sat disciplined in a Makelelesque role and only made the simple passes, not getting foward at all- unlike yesterday. Maybe there is an argument that he could be a better bet than Jenkinson right now as our second choice right back due to the current amount of competition in the middle which will increase further when Jack and Diaby return- that way him and Frimpong would get some valuable game time this season while Jenkinson is making the improvements to his game to play at the highest level- maybe next year, or someone might want him on loan.
Hi Dave that Walcott thing was meant at that Steve guy who had commented not at yourself as I found your article a good read. Also, to make my post immediately above clearer, this right back thing is just meant on a short-term basis. Wondering if anyone knows if he made any appearances in that role for Lorient by any chance- when i saw him a few years back he had a good game and I remember one particular occasion when he completely embarresingly skilled his opponent, and he can obviously make a good tackle