Our midfield monster Francis Coquelin has been a revelation since being recalled from loan earlier in the season, and now claims he wants to be the new Patrick Vieira at Arsenal, as reported by the .
The 23-year-old has unquestionably been superb this season, and is exactly the kind of midfielder we have been lacking for so long. We haven’t had a dominant defensive midfielder since Gilberto Silva or Patrick Vieira, and it’s something that has caused us endless problems in recent years.
Coquelin knows he is not at the level of Vieira just yet, but claims he hopes to be in the future. He has already become an integral part of our setup, and there is no telling where we would have been this season without him.
“I’m not going to say to you I am [the new Vieira], obviously I want to be but I think it’s down to the performance I put in every week so I’m just trying to give me best every game so hopefully I can do that in the long term,” he said.
“Sometimes you profit from injuries and that was what happened with me.
“I always had confidence in myself and belief in myself – I just need the chance.
“I got the chance because other people got injured and tried to grab it with both hands and do as well as I could.”
Having gone from being surplus to requirements, to being the undisputed first choice to anchor the midfield, Coquelin has already taken a huge step in the right direction.
We still need reinforcements in that position come the end of the season though, with Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta failing to make the grade this campaign. Both players may also potentially be on their way out of the club soon, with their contracts coming to an end – which would leave us incredibly short in the defensive midfield position.
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