Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reveals that he surprised Francis Coquelin by starting him against West Ham, as per Arsenal.com
The 23-year-old had been on loan at Championship side, Charlton Athletic, earlier in the season but was recalled after just five games, following the injuries to Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey.
“We went to West Ham United and I started him. He was surprised because we played at home against QPR and I didn’t play him, but I did away at West Ham,” Wenger said.
“Since then, he has not moved out of the team because he sticks to what he is strong at – winning the ball and using it well. What is also surprising is that he’s very good in the air because he has a very good leap,” added the Arsenal boss.
Coquelin has now played 19 games this season and confirmed himself as the best defensive midfielder at the Emirates and maybe even one of the best in the Premier League.
Indeed, no midfielder has won more tackles than Coquelin (56), since he made his first appearance against QPR on December 13th.
Furthermore, during the clash referred to by Wenger, the 23-year-old made four interceptions, while he also attempted seven tackles.
The Frenchman also completed just 73% of his passes, well below his season average of 84%.
Coquelin has helped Arsenal maintain a good spell of form, which has lifted them to third in the table, level on points with Manchester City.
The North Londoners now haven’t lost since the 2-1 defeat to Spurs on February 7th and are currently on a 10 game unbeaten streak having earned results against Liverpool, Chelsea and most recently Hull.
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