By ’Tayo Amosu
August 20, 2014
According to L’Equipe, Arsenal versatile midfielder Francis Coquelin is a subject of interest from Arsenal’s London rivals and newly promoted Queens Park Rangers.
The Harry Redknapp-led side was the only club mentioned in a list that also includes a host of French clubs.
The 23-year-old, who was on loan at Freiburg in the German Bundesliga last season, has just a year left on his existing contract and Arsene Wenger is thought to want some cash for the player, lest he goes for free next summer.
However, the unconfirmed nature of this report makes it very unclear if truly Wenger would sell him or grant him another contract as he may just become the utility player many fans believe Arsenal needs.
With a midfield comprising Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, who has just been named Captain of the squad after the departure of Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona, Mathieu Flamini, Abou Diaby, a very good but injury-prone player, Aaron Ramsey and even Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who all can play as defensive midfielders and are more highly rated than Coquelin, his chance of being even on the substitute bench is very slim, except Wenger decides to keep him on the long term to understudy Flamini and Arteta, who are past 30.
Arsenal has been linked to a plethora of defensive midfielders all summer long because Wenger was believed to desperately want an anchor man on the long term.
Names like Morgan Schneiderlin of Southampton, Sami Khedira of Real Madrid, William Carvalho, who plays for Sporting Lisbon and Josuha Guilavogui, an Atletico Madrid player, have made the news this summer as likely options in the transfer market, all of who are believed to fit Arsene Wenger’s desire for that position perfectly.
However, after the departure of former Captain Thomas Vermaelen, the club’s attention seemed to shift from the need for quality defensive midfielder to adequate defensive reinforcement especially in the Centre-Back position.
Also, the departures of Carl Jenkinson on loan to West Ham United and Johan Djourou’s permanent move to Hamburg FC, meant that Arsenal only have 6 senior team defenders for the new campaign.
Then, the speculations surfaced that Wenger would rather buy a player who can fit both roles of defensive midfielder and defender, especially central defender.
This saw names like Luis Gustavo, William Carvalho and Benedikt Howedes, the Schalke 04 Captain gracing the pages of newspapers, websites and blogs, as likely candidates. None of these rumours have seen the light of the day, which may be a result of Wenger’s plan for Coquelin.
Francis Coquelin has played not only in the defensive midfield position for Arsenal in the past, but also in either full-back positions when required.
He just so unfortunately belongs to an Arsenal side that has an array of good players especially in the midfield where he plays.
So, if Wenger would sell Coquelin to QPR or any other club, as this report says, his transfer fee must not only be influenced by the one year left on his existing contract, his versatility and quality service should be put into consideration.
