Seriously, this guy for me has been the outstanding youngster for us this season. Last year it was Jack but Coquelin has impressed me a lot. I could not watch a lot of his games with Lorient because its hard to find those games so I did not know what to expect from him this season. To say he surprised me would be an understatement. He is a very good footballer and his passing going forward is Flamini like. His tacking as shown against City can be top class as well. First time I ever watched him was against Barnet when he put in some crunching tackles but got the ball cleanly. His energy was very impressive. But after, Wenger stuck him at right back against Stoke in the FA Cup he disappeared from the squad for a while. He started against Spurs ahead of Frimpong and did not let anyone down. His positioning in that game was great. Good thing is he was not scared to go back and play in roles that he is not natural to and he had good performance against Fulham and QPR from left back. He was doing well against Leeds until the injury at right back. He signed a new contract and therefore is happy with the role he has right now. There is always a risk of a young player feeling that he wants to make it now and therefore decides to leave in search of first team football. Its really good to have a player like this in the squad but you do have to sooner or later give him a fixed role. Because he has everything to make it. He could even play box to box in a three man midfield. Him and Jack in the same midfield is an exciting prospect and one I can't wait to watch. Hopefully we will have some of the full backs back then because without them Coquelin will probably be in a stand in for those roles instead of the one in midfield where he can show all his skills.
Totally agree, along with Miquel, Yennaris, Oxo etc. this bunch look like real talents, far better than the last group (Bendtner, vela etc.)
Miquel does look quite good. Looked a bit shaky last season but he's filled in decently at LB when called upon.
Agree with this Coquelin does look like a Flamini type of player, quick and powerful - plus he is versatile. I think his best position is clearly at DM/CM but he's done a pretty good job at the back too. It's an exciting prospect to see the new group of players coming through. As mentioned, the likes of Coquelin, Oxo, Miquel, Yennaris, Frimpong look like they are going to have big Arsenal careers ahead of them. Let's not forget that both Szczesny and Wilshere have already established themselves as two of our most important players.
He's a great prospect. He was a DM, but has slowly improved to the point where he can play as a CM - he seems to be evolving into a Song type of player, but while Song is a CB playing DM, Coquelin is a DM almost playing as a CM. He could be the successor to Arteta if he carries on how he's going - which is great as Arteta is old enough to not stand in his way too much. Oxo may eventually move into an AM role, giving Wilshere, Oxo, Ramsey, Coquelin, Song, Frimpong all currently on the books, and all vying for midfield positions in a couple of years. They're all very talented, the future is bright.
Good thread. If I'm honest Coquelin has impressed me far more than Gibbs ever has, if I had both fit and at my disposal I'd choose Coquelin all day.....
Blimey, I must be in the minority here but I'm not blown away by Coquelin. About the best I've thought about him so far is that he's done ok. I appreciate he's probably playing far more this year than was expected, not to mention playing out of position too and I know he's not the finished article. My impression whenevr he's played is that he's trying too hard to impress and has lost possession/got out of position too easily. Meh, he's only young and is definitely moving in the right direction. Miquel I like... when he is playing at CB. Man he's slow though. For a big lad though he has some nice skills on him and is very good at tackling. He's another who I think will improve dramatically if he gets some more game time. Yennaris I can't judge yet but shall Saw him playing all of the CC game and come on as a sub and thought he looked like a startled rabbit in both. Mind you, isn't he supposed to be another midfielder too? I'm getting so confused with our defensive situation. Based purely on the 120 minutes of football I've seen from him I don't think he's up to scratch. A bit harsh I'll admit! Oxocube. Boy has skills and then some. Sooner he learns about positional awareness and tracking back and he'll be amazing. He's the best of our prospects in my opinion.
I'm not sure some of you have got this right at all !! First off Flamini didn't really play forward balls, he played simple passes but got all over the pitch. I saw Coquelin play quite a lot for the Youth team a couple years back (think it was 2 years) and I said he was like Denilson .. with knobs on - this is when Denilson was an ever present for us, he could do everything Denilson could and then some. He got all over the pitch and wasn't a DM. He had burst of pace, bite in the tackle and skill to get past players. He was more dynamic than Frimpong but not as strong. A future midfield of Frimpong, Wilshere and Coquelin would be fantastic I think, with Jack playing his natural midfield role .. able to get forward and back, Coquelin getting all over the pitch and Frimpong anchoring, it would be the FA Youth Cup winning midfield all over again.
JJSB - I think all he needs is to be playing regularly like Jack did. Honestly, Frimpong in the Youth team was a beast, just needs a run of games to settle down and not feel the need to prove anything.
He looks Ok to me, still not sure about him. Could be another Denilson. He certainly does'nt look anywhere near Wilshere's standard.
I like so many aspects of Frimpongs' game and agree with you, he just needs a few niggles ironed out. The problem is when we get a full team and who starts. By and large we're a youthful side so it must be a little demoralising to some of these younger players pushing for a first team position. Out of our midfield only Arteta is moving towards the end of his peak.
What is extremely impressive is that he has played the majority of his games out of position at full-back and has done extremely well, i think that he will be a great player for us and that should totally shut up the claims that we need a defensive midfielder when we have song who has been immense for us this season and both frimpong and coquelin who are both promising youngsters. Thank god we did not spend £20m on m'villa.
My only concern is that Wenger will pick Coquelin over Frimpong for the defensive midfield role.(and frimpong will move elsewhere for first team football) I think Wenger prefers Coquelin because he's a bit more creative,whereas Frimpong is more powerful and aggressive. Personally I think Frimpong is more the kind of player we need. Coquelin does'nt really give us anything we dont already have in abundance.
he has impressed me, but just wandering what you guys think our future midfield will be because we have alot of central midfielders; frimpong, ramsey, wilshere, coquelin, chamberlain, as well as song. and this is alot for a 3 man midfield :L
You can have loads of combinations. I see Song & Frimpong as the DM's Wilshere, Coquelin as the Playmakers. Ramsey, Oxo as the AM's. The ideal at present from those players is Song, Wilshere, Ramsey. That could be the main midfield 3 for the next 8 years or more. Each position also has a backup for rotation though, and they could all turn out to be very good players themselves Which bodes very well for the future!! None of it is guaranteed - a couple might not make the grade, or may decide to move on to other clubs. At present however, Coquelin has just signed a new long-term deal, Wilshere signed one last year, Song loves the club from all accounts, Oxo has only just arrived, Frimpong is the most dedicated player the team has, and Ramsey is playing regularly so I'd think he's happy!!
