Francis Coquelin, one off or genuine midfield option for us this season?: Page 27 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Francis Coquelin, one off or genuine midfield option for us this season?

dreamlord

Is it too soon to say Wenger Knows? Recalling Coq from Charlton rather than signing someone (in Jan) was a good call, in hindsight.

Irishgunner

Pfff, sheer good luck. Even Wenger has said that he didn't expect Coquelin to perform this well. If Arteta and Flamini hadn't been out at Christmas then Coquelin would have been off in the summer.

ultimatewarrior

The games are starting to catch up on him. Thought his passing has been off these last two games.

JazzG

International break coming up soon so will be a good time for him to catch a breather.

Anzac

passing
v Monaco = 94.65
v W Ham = 79.2%
v ManU = 73.5%
v QPR = 89.4%

USArsenal

His passing isnt why he's in the team.. Shield the defence, win the ball back, give it to someone who is better on the ball. That's what he does, and doing it well. AND he's a proper fighter, not afraid of a challenge. Exactly what we need him to do, and its showed.

Klaus

His passing range is an area he needs to improve though. He's never going to have Arteta's ability on the ball, but it's fair to ask more of him than we've seen so far. It's his biggest flaw at the moment.

Bold Tone

I lean more towards US's POV as i accept we cannot ask for too much.
Arteta's passing is good enough for a playmaker so he hasn't a hope in hell of getting close.
I just wish he stopped trying any hollywood passes and concentrated on hoofing and denilsoning.

goon

Don't think his passing has been a hindrance since his first couple of games. Generally pretty positive, accurate and more importantly quick.

Clrnc

Klaus wrote:
His passing range is an area he needs to improve though. He's never going to have Arteta's ability on the ball, but it's fair to ask more of him than we've seen so far. It's his biggest flaw at the moment.

He has pretty good range. He takes more risk on the ball than Arteta anyway.

y va marquer

But even when he was only making occasional appearances, Coquelin always looked to be a calm, neat and tidy midfielder.

Since returning from his Charlton, he’s added tenacity, ball-winning ability and physical presence. Perhaps a spell in England’s second tier was precisely what was required for a player whose technical quality has never been in doubt.

“That was a good experience for me – the Championship is a tough league,” Coquelin said on his return.
“Maybe technically the Premier League is a little bit better but in terms of power, engagement in duels and challenges, I think the Championship is a very tough league. It helped me come back to the Premier League.”

From a neat and simple piece on Coquelin by Michael Cox

http://www.arsenal.com/news/features/20150311/francis-coquelin

Meatwad

gilberto didn't have the best passing numbers either. i'd take him right now over everyone who has tried to play the position for us since.

marv3llous

The talk of his weaknesses as a potential problem reminds me of how Özils strengths are taken as given and his weaknesses always get described as fatal flaws in his game.

Ricky1985

Meatwad wrote:
gilberto didn't have the best passing numbers either. i'd take him right now over everyone who has tried to play the position for us since.

Coquelin is not Gilberto Silva though. If the Brazilian was only 5'9", less of an athlete and had 5 years less experience when he joined the club, his passing would have been a big issue too.

Klaus

Exactly. Look, no one said his passing is a fatal flaw. I like Coquelin and was one of maybe three people around here who still did so at the start of the season. But there are some things to work on with his game if he's going to be a longterm option. One of them is his passing.

Klaus

Gilberto was a great passer all things considered, by the way. Severely underrated player in most aspects.

Captain

Ricky, are you saying that Coquelin isn't athletic?

Ricky1985

No, his athleticism has always stood out, but he does lack power due to being a small guy compared to someone like Gilberto Silva, or the top boys around now like Matuidi, Vidal, Matic and others.

Claudius

I don't care if this guy can't even pass urine. His core competency of winning the ball back and breaking down attacks is so far ahead of anyone else in our team. I used to think that our players were just being fancy and felt above this sort of physical application, but it is becoming more and more apparent that it is a well-practiced skill. Your ability to slide in, take a ball, get up and continue play is not something any of our other guys not named Koscielny can do. Let's let him continue doing what he does. We have enough pass-a-lot smurfs. No need for him to be both Gattuso and Pirlo

innervisionscm

Yeah, there's nothing more superfluous than the ability to pass the football in central midfield.

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