“Francis Coquelin is a player we cannot do without if we want to win the league or the championship this season”, Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger has said.
Coqueline has been ruled out for the rest of the season as he succumbed to a knee injury. After having gone through various tests, it has been reported that there have been extensive ligament damages on his knee. However, the team fears that they might miss him well into the opening weeks of 2016, when they are scheduled for crucial games in different competitions.
Coqueline is the most physical member of the Arsenal team. Over the season, he has been taking a number of cards for the team. He is currently the most crucial defensive midfielder in the league and Arsenal has conceded way less when he has been on the pitch and too many when he has been out.
He has also been dubbed the new shield of the Arsenal team and a crucial player with whom the team could win their first league title in over fourteen years. His performances in the games he has participated in so far has shown his ability to play world class football.
However, he has been criticized by the opposing teams as being too tenacious. However, his coaches have backed him and have said that Coqueline, being one of the finest defensive midfielder the league, has seen as such mainly due to his willingness to commit himself to situations other players would have second thoughts due to fear of injury.
His solid performances in the second month of the season this year earned him praises from the football community. His coach is also quite impressed and has said “Coqueline has the best defensive statistics , and numbers in Europe. It is self evident and everyone has seen that by now”.
So far, the matches in which Coqueline played, his team maintained clean sheets against the best clubs in Europe. They managed to go without conceding a goal against teams like Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
Coqueline, prior to his injury, had established himself as the club’s first choice for the role of defensive midfielder in the team over the past twelve months.
Coqueline, at just twenty four of age, has been considered part of the next wave of the French soccer domination the world will be seeing in the coming years.
Earlier this year, Coqueline signed a long-term contract with his current team Arsenal for an undisclosed fee. He has said he is very happy to have done so with the club.
He is also a very popular figure on social media like Twitter and Instagram. Earlier this year, his fans started a trend #twittertakeover, which saw a record number of users using the hash tag.
His current salary remains undisclosed.