Francis Coquelin: This £60,000-a-week star adds to Gunners quality in midfield
Following the recent injury on Aaron Ramsey, Arsene Wenger has resulted to deploying Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin in midfield. And surprisingly, the partnership between the two has helped bring more balance to the squad and the Gunners have gone unbeaten in the league since their introduction.
The Frenchman revealed that unlike the Cazorla-Coquelin combination, where Carzola was more attacking and Coquelin had to step back to defend, here the load is more evenly distributed allowing both players to look after each other, both in defense and in attack.
Speaking to the club’s website, Wenger said: “Both of them are improving offensively. Now both [Elneny and Coquelin] share the job, so the balance is a bit [better]. They’re more similar. We have four attackers in front of them so we need people who can defend well in central midfield.”
Elneny and Coquelin have already played together for a 235 minutes and have not once conceded a goal in the Premier League. Despite having played on just few occasions, Coquelin has already seen enough potential in Elneny and he is sure the Egyptian is one of the best talents for the club.
“It’s going well, he’s a great addition to the squad,” the French anchorman said. “He’s settled really quickly, because don’t forget he’s only been here for two months. I thought he was fantastic in the game against Barcelona, and against Everton as well. We are getting stronger each game, and if it can carry on this way it will be a good partnership. To be honest though, we have got lots of quality players in the middle, so any players that play in there can perform.”
The Egyptian has managed to fill the void left by Ramsey and Carzola and Coquelin believes he adds quality to Arsenal’s midfield. “We rotate in the middle so you have to be able to play with everyone, and combine well with them,” he said.
“We talk a lot as well of course. He’s a new player so we are here to help him understand one another. We talk a lot on the pitch as well, and that is a big help.
“Of course he has natural qualities too and that makes everything easier as well. As soon as you play for Arsenal Football Club, you know you will be able to play alongside any player because they must have qualities to be here. You need to play together in training, in games, talk a lot, but at the end of the day you each know that the other player has the needed qualities.”
Elneny also believes his midfield partnership with the French anchorman is one of the best and they have enough potential to ensure the club’s success.
“Francis is a great player and thank God, I am always able to adapt to any of my team-mates in midfield,” Elneny said.
“We both understand each other and have many points in common when we play together. As he is a great player we complete each other in many aspects. It is a very good thing that we are able to understand each other quickly in no time so we can create a great outcome. The best is yet to come.”