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The emergence of Francis Coquelin has been the surprise of the season from Arsenal’s perspective. Even Arsene Wenger freely admits that the French henchman had entirely slipped out of his plans prior to a raft of midfield injuries.
Coquelin has since made himself indispensable in the Gunners’ engine room. For the last two or three summers, Arsenal have been linked with holding midfield players, with the role becoming a gaping chasm in the squad for many observers.
Last summer, Morgan Schneiderlin was the nom du jour and the Southampton man is likely to be heavily linked with Arsenal in the coming months. The man himself made his desire to move to a team in the Champions League a matter of public record and he’s continued to do so.
However, his move was blocked after the likes of Lambert, Lallana, Shaw and Chambers were all allowed to exit. Reports suggested that Arsenal cooled their interest in Schneiderlin last summer due to his underperformance in bigger games.
It does seem that the Frenchman’s performances have gone up another level this season; he has become a key player for the Premier League’s surprise package. Against both Manchester United and Chelsea, he came away with the man of the match award.
One would think that Schhneiderlin would be interested in moving to a team that regularly competes in the Champions League. The Saints ought not to suffer another summer of huge instability and with his contract another year down the line, the Saints board may be more amenable to a sale if the price is right.
The question is whether Arsene Wenger will maintain his interest given the emergence of Coquelin, who has already signed a four and a half year deal. Reports this week suggest that Arsenal might not be willing to pay the premium that the south coast club will demand for his services.
Personally, I think Wenger would still like a holding midfielder with Schneiderlin’s technical quality as an heir apparent to the ageing Mikel Arteta. Coquelin has been a mini-revelation at the base of the midfield, but he lacks the passing finesse of either Arteta or Schneiderlin.
Much was made of Coquelin’s 11 interceptions at Turf Moor recently, but less was made of Arsenal’s centre-halves regularly turning over possession because the 24-year-old does not receive the ball from his defenders and build play.
His attributes are very handy but almost all of them involve the opposition having the ball. Arsenal are a passing team so, on occasion at least, they need a passer in that position. Santi Cazorla has remoulded himself into a deeper midfield player this season, which has gone some way to amending that shortfall in Coquelin’s game, but he is now 30-years-old.
Schneiderlin looks like a good replacement for Arteta, capable of playing alongside or instead of Coquelin when the occasion merits. That said, much would depend on Southampton’s asking price.
I can’t see Arsenal sanctioning a move of much above £20m and that could run at odds with the Southampton board. Wenger may prioritise a goalkeeper and a playmaker for the left side of the front 3 this summer, and if a move for Schneiderlin remotely compromises either of those aims, I think he might be inclined to either shop elsewhere, or else trust Mikel Arteta for one more season.
