Do Arsenal need more than Francis Coquelin in midfield?

Arsenal have put their hopes on Francis Coquelin anchoring the midfield this season

Another transfer window has passed and with it grows the frustration of the Arsenal fans. Failure to secure a marquee signing may have put Arsenal in their familiar position, facing a battle for fourth spot in the EPL. Fans have gotten accustomed to the fact that Arsene Wenger will just not buy, however urgent the requirement, and this has been Arsenal’s problem for the last ten years. But do Arsenal really need reinforcements?

You are only as strong as your weakest link. In the Gunners’ case, for the past few seasons this definitely was the defensive midfield position. Ever since the departure of Patrick Vieira, Arsenal have struggled to replace him with someone really worthwhile. Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta, although fine players by their standards, just do not strike fear in the opposition ranks. Alex Song did a pretty decent job of it for a couple of years, but even he was let go.

Is Coquelin good enough for Arsenal?

The latest player to be thrust into that role is Francis Coquelin. Brought back from a loan spell at Charlton and thrust into first team action due to injuries to Flamini and Arteta, Coquelin performed way above expectations in the second half of last season. But is that enough?

	WITH COQUELIN	WITHOUT COQUELIN
MATCHES	15	15
WIN	12	6
DRAW	1	5
LOSS	2	4
WIN %	80%	40%

Although a fighter by nature, he is not the most physically intimidating player one would come across. What Arsenal have lacked and now continue to lack is a strong leader. Someone who is not afraid to get their hands dirty for the cause. Someone capable of making the hard tackles when necessary, yet at the same time possessed with the sense not to get involved when not required.

In other words, a player who showcases power with responsibility. Wenger, though, has never felt the need to procure the above-said player. Many pundits have openly attacked this Wenger philosophy. Gary Neville for one, went as far as to say that Wenger was plain ‘arrogant and naive’ for not attempting to sign a defensive midfielder.

But there’s a fine line between arrogance and confidence. Wenger has always believed that his side possess the adequate amount of fight to challenge for every title out there. Fans though, have always been skeptical. A look at the table above clearly shows that Arsenal have been way more successful with Coquelin than without. Averaging 2.5 points per game in the 2014/15 season with him in the side is highly commendable.

If not Coquelin, who else?

Coquelin seems to possess the talent but can he step it up in the big games and take on the likes of Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney? Is he mature enough to make the right decisions during the heat of battle? And what if he gets injured? No one on the bench has the capability or the necessary skill set to play the hlding role.

Aaron Ramsey, like the other Arsenal midfielders, is far too interested in going forward and often leaves the back four exposed. As Jose Mourinho rightly said, “You cannot lose a game if you don’t concede a goal”, something Arsenal have been guilty of for the past few seasons.

Arsenal have also been guilty of conceding goals from set pieces. A player with a strong physical stature could easily help deal with such situations. A look at last season’s statistics shows that Arsenal conceded 36% of their goals from headers implying a lack of aerial presence in the team.

Aaron Ramsey is a central midfielder but is more effective on the right for Arsenal

It is not only in the defensive role that a player of such a skill set is required. The ability to make lung-busting runs into the opposition’s penalty box, with or without the ball, as well as the vision to pick out the right pass at the right moment also helps release the pressure in tight situations.

Arsenal are probably by far the most pleasing on the eye, but is pure passing going to win you the elite honours? That answer is an emphatic ‘no’. It hasn’t been the case for the last 10 years. Every successful league winning side has had someone who could play that transition role between the attack and defence.

Comparing Coquelin with other defensive midfielders

Chelsea had Michael Essien initially and now Nemanja Matic. Manchester City boast the likes of Yaya Toure, who is considered one of the best central midfielders in the world today, probably the best in a central role. Manchester United have made a couple of attempts at replacing Roy Keane, first with Owen Hargreaves followed by Darren Fletcher, although both were successful only for a season each. And now, they finally signed Frenchman Morgan Schneiderlin – a hard tackler as well as a gifted passer.

	Schneiderlin (2014/15)	Coquelin (2014/15)	Arteta (2013/14)
Apps	26	22	31
Tackle %	74	72	67
Passes per game	61.2	44.5	69.4
Pass %	89	86	92
Accurate long passes	133	32	143
Key Passes	20	5	19
Interceptions	67	81	53
Aerial Duels Won	47	54	42
Dispossessed	20	25	12

A look at the table above clearly shows that Coquelin matches up to Schneiderlin in terms of the defensive part of his game. In fact, he even outshines his French counterpart in aerial duels won and successful interceptions.

Where Schneiderlin gains ground is in the fact that he has a much higher pass completion ratio, successful long passes and key passes. This could be due to the fact that Arsenal, playing such an attacking lineup, don’t really require the services of Coquelin in an attacking sense.

Do Arsenal need a central midfielder in the mould of Nemanja Matic?

A comparison between Coquelin and Matic’s stats reinforces the same point. Although probably better than Matic defensively, Matic possesses the ability to change games offensively as well. This is where Coquelin will have to improve his game in order to cement his place in the Gunners line-up.

COQUELIN		MATIC
83%	Passing accuracy	86%
45	Successful passes per game	55
0.29	Key Passes	0.73
2.77	Tackles won per game	2.88
3.65	Interceptions	2
2.76	Aerial duels per game	2.73

But is it fair on Coquelin to expect so much of someone so young, so raw. It would make sense for Wenger to procure another player of his abilities just to ease the pressure a little bit. Another quality lacking in Coquelin is leadership. Prone to losing his temper on the pitch and making rash decisions is not something a side like Arsenal can really afford. This is where a calming presence is required.

So far, whatever teams have thrown at the young Arsenal player, he has responded with aplomb. But only time will tell us if he is really capable of filling Patrick Vieira’s boots. In the meanwhile, Arsenal still require a leader in the middle of the park to carry them to their first league title since 2004.

But Is it too late for them this season? Is this going to be yet another tame battle for a Champions League spot? For fans paying the highest ticket prices in England, that is just not good enough.