What makes Le Coq's current performances so good is not that he "sits" as a "pure DM" as so many suggest/desire, but that he is actually more complete both in his current role and as a footballer than what we've had since Art lost his legs. The DM has to be able to hit those crossfield passes, play a one two in the center circle, carry the ball forward, put in a tackle, position for the interception, cover the attacking fullback, and drop between the CBs when necessary. He also needs to be able to travel between both boxes, and be comfortable enough when he ends up out wide chasing down an opposition winger or beating a man to play a pass and relieve the pressure, or start an attack.
Even better if he can find his range and add goal threat from distance. I actually think Ramsey is capable of doing all of that, and at times he has. Santi is also putting in a shift, broadening his role in the team. Basically, a midfielder is a footballer in the most general sense of the word. They have to do it all well. They don't have the burden of end product to the extent that a forward has, nor the burden of keeping a clean sheet like a defender or a keeper. Control the midfield, control the game....and that doesn't necessarily mean the centre circle and it doesn't necessarily mean having more possession.
This isn't to say that there aren't midfield roles, there obviously are, but they aren't so cut and dried, like the notion that a DM "shouldn't cross the halfway line" or any nonsense like that. The roles assigned are about controlling space, balancing between attack and defense, between narrowness and width, and shaping play through movement so that the ball travels vertically when you're in possession and catching the opposition square when you're not. That's all best done when one player knows they should show for the ball upfield, or when you know which side you're responsible for when you have to drop back into a more rigid defensive formation, etc. There is literally no great team out there who has a DM that just "sits". I'd include Arsenal in that.
