Why this unsung hero is most important Arsenal player

After a tremendous calendar year, @KennyKen1972 believes Francis Coquelin is Arsenal’s most important player.

There is no doubt that Arsenal’s greatest strength is their midfield engine room, where they have a wealth of skilful ball playing artists like Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla.

However the most vital cog in Arsenal’s midfield axis has to be Francis Coquelin. The young Frenchman has made the holding role his own and some might say he is probably the first name on Arsene Wenger’s team-sheet.

Wenger stumbled upon Coquelin’s utility completely by accident, as previously the Frenchmen was part of junior Arsenal sides alongside Jay Emmanuel Thomas, Emmanuel Frimpong and Jack Wilshire.

Wenger originally used him sparingly in his squads for 2012/13 season, where he deputised for Mikel Arteta who was used in the midfield anchor role, but he was loaned out to Freiburg and Charlton to continue his development.

Whilst the youngster was out on loan, Wenger brought back Mathieu Flamini on a free transfer from AC Milan in 2013.

Initially, Flamini was a qualified success in the holding role during the 2013/14 season, however his form tailed off in 2014/15; as he was guilty of giving away possession in dangerous areas and being out of position when the opposition launched counter attacks.

The turning point for both Arsenal and Coquelin was Arsenal’s surprise victory over Manchester City in January, where Coquelin was arguably Arsenal’s man of the match. He provided genuine protection for the back four, which enabled Arsenal to attack City on the counter attack.

Coquelin has gone on to make the position his own to the extent that there will huge panic amongst Arsenal fans, if he was to ever succumb to injury or suspension. This a lot to do with the fact that the alternatives are not of the highest standard.

Mikel Arteta was never suited to the holding role and opponents use his lack of mobility to launch counter attacks. Meanwhile, Mathieu Flamini has already been used in that position and, although he shows passion on the field and was the man of the match in Arsenal’s recent victory over Tottenham in the Capital One Cup, he too is not the answer in the specialised holding role.

Another reason why Coquelin is important to Arsenal,is down to the club’s failure to buy a complete midfielder in the last transfer window. Players like Geoffrey Kondogbia and Morgan Scheinderlin would have been players who would have fitted that profile, yet they are plying their trade at Inter Milan and Manchester United respectively.

If Arsenal are going to mount a genuine title challenge with their current squad it’s vital that Coquelin keeps fit, as he will needed for the trickier away games at places like Goodison Park & the Britannia Stadium, where teams will look to get amongst and disrupt Arsenal’s passing game.