Can Coquelin REALLY be new Vieira for Arsenal?

Arsenal fans have been surprised and delighted by the performances of our French midfielder Francis Coquelin this season. Having been recalled from his most recent loan spell because of an injury crisis in central midfiel, the 23-year old has never looked back and every good performance he puts in makes us believe more and more that we might finally have found a proper defensive midfielder.

But comparing him to our former captain and midfield warrior Patrick Vieira may seem a bit premature, especially as the former Gunner was more of an all-round player, helping the attacking side and chipping in with a few goals in every season.

But one man who knows Coquelin as well as anyone is Jack Wilshere, as the two spent years in the Arsenal academy system together. In an interview on the Arsenal website the England international was full of praise for his team mate, expressing his surprise that it took so long for Coquelin to force his way into the first team and show what he can do.

He also suggested that the Frenchman does have the ability to add a bit more forward play to his game, so maybe we will start to see that more from Coquelin once he feels a bit more stablished in the Gunners side. As long as he keeps doing what he has been doing on the defensive side, that would be great.

Wilshere said, “I’ve played with Francis in midfield since I was 15.

“I used to wind him up by saying, ‘Listen, you do all the dirty work and the tackling and then let me have the ball!’ But the thing is, he loves that side of it. He’s really good at it, he’s tenacious, the way he always goes after the ball. Not everyone has that ability to win the ball back and to be aggressive.

“I thought it was strange how he didn’t break through before because I’ve always felt that he could be the one to play in that position for us.

“I think there’s much more to come from him as well. He’s a great defensive midfielder, but going forward he was always a threat in the youth team. I think he can score goals too.”

So could Coquelin really turn out to be a new Vieira?

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Tags Coquelin Vieira Wilshere

23 Comments

      1. Based on…? He has got MotM awards for 6 games he’s played since he got back. He more than deserves a chance and is proving himself. Statistically he crushes Matic, who I would consider the best CDM in the league at the moment.

    1. He has his own style of play.we should never compare him to viera but he is starting to make me wonder if we need a world class DM,maybe a backup.he is the best DM in the bpl for me.if I could make an all star team from bpl le coq would be my holding midfielder.he is faster and more aggressive than matic.

      1. matic reads the gams better at this level though I think, and is a better distributor as well as having a better knowledge of when to join in with the attack and he finishes well for a holding mid.

  1. He’s doing well at d moment and can be d new viera. Since gilberto left we’ve not had a solid dm. hope he’s rewarded with a call up from deschamps aswell

  2. To paraphrase Billy Joel – Francis, don’t go changing, just to please Jack, we love you just the way you are. The last thing we need is him thinking he’s a goal scorer.

  3. Nothing against Matic (great player), but like I said recently: technique is always superior to physique.

    Did you watch the Chelsea vs. PSG game??? What did you think of Matic? Size counts, but not always. At the moment, Francis Coquelin is in a better form…

  4. I feel coquelin is much more comparable to Gilberto, or Flamini BEFORE he left.

    Vieira was much more attacking minded than Coquelin.

  5. Admin please help out-
    I went to Play Store after following this link to download your said app. But where there should be an install button display, there is an exclaimation mark with written instructions “Not compatible with your device.”
    Is this for app for PC or are there any other way to download this app?
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