It’s recently been announced that midfielder Francis Coquelin is set to return to the Emirates this summer after a loan spell at Bundesliga underachievers SC Freiburg. What with the stock of the Bundesliga rising in the last few seasons, the competitive nature of the German top flight was set to be a decent gauge as to the 23 year olds combative nature and general technical ability. By all accounts, the Frenchman’s performances could be described at best as ‘average’ and at worst (in the words of some particularly harsh critics) ‘a complete liability’.
After making a meagre 16 appearances for Freiburg, the side from the Black Forest decided not to make the move for Coquelin permanent and such was the underwhelming nature of his Bundesliga exploits any potential suitors for the midfielder’s signature seemed to understandably vanish into the ether. So where now for the Frenchman? He was regarded as quite a promising prospect in his late teenage years, performing well on loan at French club Lorient in the 2010/11 season and then having a handful of modestly decent cameos in an Arsenal shirt. His stock seemed to plummet somewhat however when afforded opportunities by Wenger to impress. Granted, the player was part of (arguably?) Arsenal’s most uninspiring group of players in recent times when he was given the small handful of opportunities to stake a claim for a regular berth in the first team, so it maybe wasn’t the best platform for him to shine and show his supposed talents. With Arsenal supposedly being in the market for a more defensively minded midfield player this summer, it looks as though the club will have a player in that positional bracket to introduce back into their ranks. However, after a pretty turgid year in the Bundesliga, question marks over the players quality will inevitably be asked.
The excitement levels amongst fans are unlikely to be electric or reach fever pitch at the prospect of this one time potential ‘wonderkid’ sheepishly making his way back to North London. Some however may be curious if he has any sort of meaningful future at Arsenal. He’s a versatile player, having filled in at rightback as well as playing in the centre of the park. Naturally being suited to anchor a midfield, busy himself mopping up loose balls and distribute the ball quickly to the technicians in-front of him seems to be the role his attributes would suggest his talents are best employed.
But sadly for the player, being realistic, his situation is hardly set up for him to come back to Arsenal and take the Premier League by storm. At 23 years of age he’s hardly ready for the glue factory, but in turn he can no longer be considered a ‘prospect’. There’s the fair notion that a player ‘doesn’t turn bad overnight’, it’s worth bearing in mind that not long after the player signed for Arsenal there were reports that Inter Milan and Bayern Munich no less had sent scouts to keep an eye on the player at under-21 and reserve level.
If Arsenal are looking to cash in on Coquelin, then inevitably they’re not going to be making much of a contribution to their transfer kitty in terms of profits gained. With Wenger generally being open-minded and not shy in giving players he’s previously put his trust in a chance, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the Frenchman might find himself with a squad number for the coming campaign. There is some talent there, there’s also positional versatility, something seen as very much advantageous in the modern game. Coquelin didn’t turn many heads in his time spent in Germany, but fortune may have given him another shot at forging a decent top level career for himself, and playing under a coach like Wenger means he just might get the chance to get his career on track.
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