Hang on! Coquelin has IMPROVED since last season!

The Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin enjoyed an excellent breakthrough campaign last term. Had Arsene Wenger finally found the midfield jigsaw piece that he had been missing since the departure of captain Patrick Vieira in 2005?

On Sunday, the Frenchman was substituted in the sixty-fourth minute at Crystal Palace, a decision based on the yellow card that Coquelin had picked up in the forty-first minute after a foul on Wilfried Zaha. Subsequent fouls from Coquelin forced Wenger’s hand as he removed the midfielder in anticipation that a red card was about to follow.

Ultimately, the acid test for Coquelin is whether he can build on last season’s success. The early signs are good.

Stats released by Opta-powered fantasy football game www.oulala.com show that the 24-year-old has improved on last season’s impressive form. On a per 90 minute basis, the Frenchman is up in a host of key areas from last season.

The midfielder has won 4.5 tackles per 90 minutes this season compared to just 3.17 last season. He has lost fewer tackles per 90 minutes too (3 to 3.28). A total tackle success-rate of 60% compared to 49% last season.

The 24-year-old’s success in the air is also up. He has won 67% of his aerial battles compared to 64% last term. Total duels, again are on the rise. Coquelin has won 61% of all his head-to-head battles, 6% up from last season.

The Frenchman’s passing has also appeared to improve too. 89% this season, to 86% in 2014/15.

While the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil steal the headlines, one man is showing all the signs of star billing.

If Francis Coquelin can continue to improve on an excellent 2014/15, Arsenal will undoubtedly be one step closer to challenging for the Premier League title this season.

Russell

Tags Coquelin Ozil Palace

46 Comments

    1. i like coquelin and think that he will be key to our season’s success if there will be any but not to the extent of not wanting him to have competition…..

      #WENGEROUTKLOPPIN

    2. we can say all we want bout Le Coq……. Praise him or hate him…… He will need heLp!…….. And when i mean help, i’m not referring to expired cargoes like the flame or the hair care superstar Arteta!……..

    3. This is why people don’t take Arsenal fans seriously. He played consistently for 6 MONTHS, continued his form in pre-season, has one bad game because of rustiness every player suffers after months without PL, and all of a sudden he’s crap ??? Coquelin is class and is only getting better, he had a bad day at the office which is normal yet his stats were above average, so what does he have to do to gain support, score a hat trick, be Maradona ??! Honestly some of you guys complain too much.

    4. I guess every player on our team is now world class because we beat palace aré You Guys watching the other teams? Arsenal i can assure You will be 4 th this season. Stupid stats

    5. @kabeer. Say that again! Why crucify statistics in this way. How do you compare statistics from sample size 2 with another from a sample size of over 20 or so. Very misleading. But i was very impressed with Coquelin on Saturday.

      1. He can only compare with the games played so far in this case 2. The comparison will continue across the season. What the starts above show is that the “buy buy buy horde” who capitalized on the yellow card incident against Palace have been making uninformed noise.

  1. The yellow card shows how important getting another top DM is. Arteta did fine for the last 26 minutes but would he be able to play high quality for 90mins if Coquelin had been sent off and missed the next match let alone several matches in a row if coquelin got injured

    It’s GREAT that Coquelin is improving. He was a HUGE revelation last season, however Please we need another. Get krychowiak, Busquets, Carvalho, bender, any top DM

    1. I am at a loss of words as to your reasoning. Acknowledging that Arteta did well when called upon to do so then you go on to cast unsubstantiated aspersions of doubt on the capabilities of Arteta. Since joining Arsenal in the 2011/2012 season Arteta has proved himself in that role, so can you tell us where your doubts are coming from. You speculate about Coquelin missing games due to injury or suspension. One can also speculate that Francis may not get injured or suspended hence no need to have a back up. There is no doubt that Arteta as a back up to coquelin is more than adequate. Your opinion cannot change that fact.

        1. And how old is Carrick? How old was Pirlo? Can you classify Mikel, Fernando as better than Arteta? If not why are those clubs not looking for your so called world class back ups if they want to push for the title?

          1. How many teams have submitted bids for ur beloved Arteta since joining arsenal?……… Talking bout agility…….. Even at almost the same age, there’s a reason why fans and teams still want Rosicky (even spartak moscow)……. Arteta on the other hand is finished for me!

            1. And how many teams have submitted bids for Mikel, Carrick, Fernando, etc since they joined their respective clubs? How many teams have submitted bids for Busquet, Messi, Ronaldo, Terry, etc, since they joined their respective clubs? The point here is your argument is ridiculous.

      1. fred cowardly is here all the time spouting the same line no matter what happens. arteta is a good DM. better then most other teams’ 1st choice and better then the 2nd choice of the other top teams.

      2. I’m didn’t say a word against Arteta. You are drawing your own conclusions and making your own assumptions

        The reason I want another DM is a precautionary measure.

        Arteta is different now then he was a few years ago. It happens with age to ALL players. They lose some quality. Look at Flamini. He is a far cry from what he was several years ago.

        Coquelin needs competition and him being starter for whole season shows Arteta hasn’t been much competition

        1. In 07/08 Gilberto the “Invisible Rock” of the Invincibles was on the bench and a breakout Flamini was a “starter for the whole season”. Did Flamini becoming a starter for the whole season mean Gilberto was rubbish and no more a worthy player?

      3. The work of a DM is quite clear cut…Jam the opposition radar, don’t let them find their range, constitute a nuisance to the opposition, if and when you win the ball, give it to a better ball playing/retaining team-mate, never complicate issues…16 year old Reece Oxford did that superbly against Ozil especially, Le Coq for the most part has also done it. Arteta and Ramsey can fill in for Le Coq when he is not available, the problem we had was expecting them to play the whole season in that role, just wouldn’t work. Just wish we could get a wicked striker, but who?

      4. @ the analyser,Artetas proved one thing in that position,that hes incapable of doing a good job there,an if you think hes done a good job there since 2011/12 then you need help with your analysis.Its clear for every1 who knows about football that we need top class competition for Coquelin,time has proven me right since 2011/12 and time will prove me right on this one.

    1. And who does Barca have to push Messi, or Madrid to push Ronaldo? You cannot go so low in an attempt to justify the unjustifiable. In the 2013/14 season Gustavo refused to join Arsenal because he felt he would not get sufficient game time ahead of the 2014 world cup. What that tells you is that no quality player would join a club if he is not guaranteed game time, unless the club could offer incentives like a high salary. You bring in Busquets, Francis leaves, so what would you opt for?

      1. Messi and Ronaldo drive each other because there standards are so high,they have that hunger that drives them on,you can’t compare average players in comparison to those 2,thats just silly

  2. I can see his really trying to incorporate long range passing in his game, maybe its something the coach’s have advised him to do. If he would do it flawlessly it would be good for the team and reduce attacks slowing down by him always looking for Carzola after he wins the ball back.

    Its only been 2 games but his playing with a bit more confidence and swag, his probably grown in confidence having been guaranteed a first team slot with no proper competition (hope it does not go to his head).

    I enjoy him been aggressive, we have too many midfielders who lack that fight in there game and are willing to step into the ring with anybody. Hoping he can further improve on his tackling and learn to calm down when the pressure is less or playing with a card.

  3. The jury is yet to b eout on him. SO far in the 2 games, he has been less impressive. We let go of a player like schneiderlin thinking that Coquelin is so Coq better improve. He should have been off against Crystal Palace but we were lucky and Coq should be more aware. In big games he may be punished and that could cost us.

    1. Are you a referee or you are one of those brainless football manager specialists who think that once a player has been booked he cannot committed another foul without being booked again. The fouls that Francis committed after the yellow card were non bookable, but were sensationalized by the commentators who are always keen on creating talking points in each match. The foul on Zaha was just a nudge deep in CP half when Zaha was head anywhere but goal side. The Skysports referee analyst tried create an impression that Zaha was moving into space before he was pushed by Francis, in a bid to justify a claim for a second yellow card, yet was actually heading for the touchline with the ball. The same analyst conceded that the 64th minute foul was not a bookable offence. On the other hand Pardew from his interview thought the foul on Zaha should not have led to a yellow card but the 64th minute foul should.

      Those that watched the Man City-Chelsea game would testify that Toure’s challenge towards the end of the game was more blatant than Francis’ on Zaha, yet no one, apart from the only one, is taking issue with the referee’s decision not to give a second yellow card to Yaya.

      1. Its funny because if that was done by an opponent player then we would have been crying. Thats the problem with us fans, one rule of us different for another. All I said was Coquelin should be more careful as on other day he could have been off.

        No matter what anyone say the jury is still not out on Coq. He has to prove a lot before we can call him great or compare him with greats. And in the first two games he has been less than impressive. He reminds me a lot of a de jong type player but with less intelligence. And thats not good.

        1. The fact that you would be crying if that had been happened to an opposition player does not change the fact that the fouls did not deserve a second yellow. Committing fouls is part of the game, and so is getting yellow cards, and even red cards. There is nothing that Francis did to suggest that he was reckless. He was simply doing his job, and committing fouls and getting yellow cards is part of that job.

          Your claim that in the last two games his performance was not up there contradicts evidence produced in the article under discussion. Maybe you should give us evidence that support your claim, because evidence at hand shows that he is doing better than he did last season.

          Francis does not require a jury to pass a judgment about his capabilities, because in his trade there is only one judge to make those decisions who is his manager. The manager thinks he is up to it and so be it.

          1. SO saying a player should be a more careful equals to crying. Whats the point of discussing with you if you cant discuss football. Each and every time we lose or draw , fans talk about refs , how incompetent they were etc. etc. My whole point is on other day it could have seen him a second yellow. And just go and look at the tackle again, it was careless. A person in a yellow should avoid getting into such tackles.

            You want evidence, the biggest evidence is Coquelin has just shined for 6 months and people like you have already have termed the biggest thing. Coquelin could be the next big thing, but there also chances he may not.

            So if a manager plays a player that means he is good enough, SO diaby , Denilson, WERE ALSO GREAT RIGHT. LET US NOT BEHAVE LIKE MANAGER CAN NEVER go wrong. We have to admit faults where there is,, and not just blindly trust manager every time. Wenger has time and time proven he makes more mistakes than not so to say manager plays him so the jury is out is a joke.

  4. I don’t get arsenal fans……just in pre-season we were so much in aww of ramsey. I rememeber the famous line ” he is our most complete midfielder” ”he can be our lampard” he can be our captain” . Now we all bashing the guy, why are we so contradicting, cant we support our players. I personally do however feel that wenger should somehow make it known that he is not a guaranteed starter, and needs to stick to his basics.

    Guys think quick, if wilshere and Welbs were fit together with ox an Walcott, how strong our bench would be God dammnnn. If we add another attacker I can see someone pushing for a move out. I am surprised we never made use of Campbell and Silva in pre-season, would of been interesting. I think bielik needs a loan move.

    Giroud, well what can I say that hasn’t been said. He scored a delicious goal yesterday no doubt, but I feel he’ll make a superrrbb plan B, like Dzeko. Its either we stick sanchez upfront(ala aguero,suarez mould) and get gotze or buy cavani. I think if we want to be in Europe’s elite, our attackers needs to be devasting. I know sanchez was abit off and slightly greedy, but his determined to put the game to bed, I mean isn’t that what a quality forward consists off? the hunger to score. anyway…….I still feel walcot is pivotal to our title challenge,….his like our sniper.

    Lastly, look at city……the thing I noticed was their power,desire and incisiveness. I like the Per and Kos because of their chemistry, but I think we need to unleash our bulldog Paulista. What iv seen of him is that he doesn’t like being passed and darn aggressive. We need that mantle in our side. Currently its only Coq, wilsh, rosisky, sanchez. I feel if Paulista played more not only will we be more aggressive at the back, but it could just rub off one or tow of our players.

    Lets beat Liverpool, and put the record straight.

    Was I the only one to see how ozil is starting to have more desire, the guy is pureeee class, what a player we have on our hands, I shall not leave my missus with him, he’ll assist in any way he can lol

    Eva is kinda cute, why don’t we appoint her<…..lol then half our team ends up in our physio rooms.

    COYG #YA gunners YA#

    1. I agree. We need another striker and Walcott is very important. If we don’t get a CF like Benzema, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic, Cavani then How about Reus, Greizmann or Gotze. All three can play LW, RW, CAM and up front. We could try Alexis or Walcott up front.

      I’m impressed with City. Liverpool and United have improved. Chelsea will probably sign more and get better.

      We need at least one more WC player in attack

    2. Excellent comment though I think the part about paulista – bulldog is quite beautiful only in fantasy.
      Truth be told,a pair of two aggressive defenders rarely works because they get drawn to the ball too quickly.
      Coq,Kos and Gabby would even be worse because neither of the three stops to read the game for a second,which means,a properly thought out routine could be used 3-4-5 times against them in the same match,where as with a Mert/Hummels/Terry character,you’d have someone who’d stop and think about the situation a little.
      In relation to city yesterday,I think they divided up the defense well.Kompany being the brawn(ala Kos ) and Mangala being the brain (Ala Mert ) if I’m to tell the truth though,I think Chelsea were too slow coming out of defense.very often,hazard/willian/cesc/ Ramirez,would have the ball about 40yards away from city’s goal with the closest support about 10 yards away.
      On the contrary,whenever Sterling /Silva /Navas had the ball,they’d have two to three options in a 5yard radius.
      Naturally,that gives you room for more combination play and quick give and goes.
      You’ll find that our best attacks came when Ramsey,Cazorla,Ozil,Sanchez,Giroud were in close proximity.
      That meant that the palace defense had very little chance of negating threats because they couldn’t mark everyone.
      Also lastly,A Kos / Gabby partnership would result in too many set pieces concided.
      I think it would work though after Kos gets on in age and realises that maybe he should let Gabby do the Harassing while he mops up behind him.

    1. Its BS because Benzema is 2/5 to stay with RM and he is 7/2 to join us 10/1 manu 12/1 mcity 33/1 psg.

  5. Coquelin is a very good player, who breaks up the play well.

    Let us not forget the days before he was a regular…Arteta…need I say more?

    Appreciate Le Coq, he is great!

  6. @ Jazlon. I totally agree with you… We have become so fickle and change our mind so fast about our players. Today, we’ll say this player is good’ the next minute we’re bashing Him. We change our minds quickly after games. I rather say ‘Ramsey had a bad game’ after a game and not ‘Ramsey is useless, He is a waste of space and should be benched’ That’s totally wrong. I wonder if other fans bash their own players like we do… If a player is out of form, shape or not good enough’ He should be dropped but let’s limit the way we abuse our players. I know we judge a player by his last game but let’s reduce the abuse. I guess some anti arsenal fans come here to post and pretend to be part of us…

  7. This Goetze to Arsenal rumor is a waste of time. If Goetze’s preferred position is wide, he wouldn’t get playing time here because Arsene is still hell bent on getting Ramsey on the field, and thus playing him wide.
    City gave Chelsea problems with proper wide play. Azpi and Ivanovic couldn’t get in the game because Sterling and Jesus Navas. We have the proper wide players to inflict that same amount of misery to those outside backs, and thus must use those players wide. If, which seems unrealistic at this point, but if we can get a mobile/pacy/dangerous 9, and a DM to compete with and rotate with LeCoq, then we can truly challenge for the title. If we persist with Giroud (who is a good player in his own right and most likely a super sub) and forcing Ramsey/Jack into the team, then the most we can hope for is 3rd or 4th.

  8. I think Frank is doing just fine as of now but We need to be patient with him.let’s take a leaf from the players.one game at a time.

    On a slightly different note,what is it about arsenal fans,especially on this blog finding so much pleasure in bashing arsenal players.Isn’t that a job for the spuds?
    I know some players can be frustrating including the coach but Every single weekend you find an excuse to cry.some of you like to cry so much you seem to wish we could faulter so You can make valid arguments.
    Let me give an example.every man and his dog know that Aaron Ramsey is uncomfortable out on the flank but the boss has effectively used him there often. People are not about to admit to when it worked against crystal palace, Aston Villa, and all the many numerous times. They’d rather wait for the one time it fails so they can bash
    You blame the manager for being favourist yet a fellow blogger praising a player he previously bashed is called being two faced
    You kill Ramsey for a blind pass attempting to enter the opposition final third yet you won’t blame Sanchez for turning over the ball in a pointless dribble with three free team mates
    You kill metersacker for deflecting a shot into his own net but won’t touch kos for getting out of the way of a shot he could have sufficiency blocked
    You claim with no substantial proof that arteta ,mert ,Ramsey, can not lead arsenal anywhere substantial yet they have each at a point been a massive cause for stability and progress when called upon
    Even after reading this comment, you will ignore the fact that kos was awful until partnerd with mert, our defensive mid with song leaked more goals than the one with arteta and we’ve struggled to win without him at least until late last season .
    Ramsey’s goals were only the icing on the cake to his services because prior to that, he was already having his upturn in form and was carrying the team way before and way after ozil
    You are willing to sit on all that simply because, you just have to be right. You just have to justify calling Wenger an old Fart ,you just have to call Ramsey rubbish, you just have to call Mert and donkey
    You can criticize/praise one party with doing the complete opposite to the other

    1. Those are not Arsenal fans but some glory hunters living miserable lives just like Chelsea fans that frequent the Daily Mail comments section.

  9. Some of Coquelins passing in our last match was truly outstanding. No doubt he was trying to prove a point and boy did he prove it. One pass in particular blew me away and nearly blew Aaron away too as I can recall. Coq fired a bullet of a cross midfield ball and at a perfect height for Ramsey to chest ..but we needed Ozil or even Giroud on the end of it. Awesome long ball play Coq ..keep it up son. Reminded me of Xabi Alonso.

  10. We basically have 2 choices. Get another DM to share the pain or get a better, proven an old DM who will in turn influence Coquelin. I think the latter would be best for club and player.

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