When Arsenal, at rather short notice, granted Alex Song his wish of a move to Barcelona in the summer, the widely held expectation was that the club would seek to replace the Cameroonian with a defensive midfielder from elsewhere.
Instead, Arsene Wenger took the unexpected step of deploying Mikel Arteta as his midfield shield and, although the Spaniard offers much to the side in terms of his ball retention and ability from set-pieces, halfway into the season it is safe to say that he is not the most natural fit in that position, as opponents are frequently allowed to orchestrate attacks by cutting through the Arsenal midfield.
One player more accustomed to that role is Francis Coquelin, with the young Frenchman having made quietly impressive strides this season, featuring with some regularity in the Premier League and Champions League, whilst also starting all three games in the Capital One Cup.
Coquelin has played 38 times for the Arsenal first-team since making his debut in 2008.
That is some turnaround for a player who, a little over a year ago, seemed destined to leave the club having grown frustrated at a lack of opportunities. Wenger convinced the France U21 international to stay and, so far, Coquelin has reaped the benefits, all the while demonstrating an increased sense of maturity in his game in terms of the manner in which he times his tackles and distributes the ball to his team-mates.
In the ill-fated fixture against Bradford City, for instance, Coquelin turned in an impressive performance whilst other, more senior professionals around him wilted in the heat of battle, before he was surprisingly substituted. There are still some rough edges present in his game, and he does occasionally falter when placed under sustained pressure, but his improvement since being promoted to the first-team squad at the start of last season is evident. He has a long-term competitor in Emmanuel Frimpong, but, whilst both players are capable of crunching challenges, Coquelin’s passing ability is far superior.
Having made many of his early senior appearances for the club at right-back, Coquelin has looked far more at home in his preferred defensive midfield position. He has always possessed ability, having shone in that role on his debut for the club against Barnet in 2008. Four-and-a-half years on, the 21 year old, who benefitted immensely from his loan spell with Lorient two seasons ago, looks as if he is ready to challenge for a place in the starting line-up at Emirates Stadium.
i hope he strarts to shine like song did not in big steps but to improve good
Can not agree with you at all. Positionally poor, decision making poor. Getting a chance only due to lack of alternatives
Yes he looks good, however with Wilshere and Arteta sitting in front of back four, he is unlikely to start for us assuming everyone is fit.
Nonetheless he should be able to make 10-15 starts a season.
there’s space enough for him AND frimpong in the squad
if frimpong can recapture some of the spring he used to have before his injuries, he can still be a great player, a new essien
i hope both of these guys stay and play at the base of our midfield for a decade
To suggest that “opponents are frequently allowed to orchestrate attacks by cutting through the Arsenal midfield” is somehow Arteta’s fault is way off the mark. He’s the one who holds us together when far too often the players in front of him don’t react quickly enough to a loss of possession and fail to get behind the ball, leaving Mikel and the defence stretched and vulnerable on the counter, or don’t keep a strong enough shape when we do have enough numbers behind the ball. He’s the last player whose positioning or concentration should be doubted.
If any one player can be blamed for our midfield being dissected too easily it’s Wilshere, who is too keen to press and win the ball quickly when he should be patient and let the opposition make a mistake. He rushes forward out of a sensible position to press the player on the ball, is picked off by a simple pass, and suddenly the ball is dangerously on the edge of our box instead of being passed harmlessly around the halfway line.
You talk nothing but rubbish. Wilshere is the only one in our midfield who can make a challenge. Arteta only ever fouls, podolski runs away from oposition midfielders, cazorla is an empty shirt defending. Arteta offers very little. Poor positioning, no pace and no tackling ability. Preferably defensive midfielders should be either fast and covers a lot of ground or tall and good at tackling and arteta is neither. Play maker come converted defensive midfielder. Your comment about wilshere running beyond is rubbish also. The reason we have been incredably uncreative this year is because of our midfielders lack of movement off the ball, lack of midfielders positioned in between the lines and lack of cutting passes and since wilshere has come back, part of that has been solved with his far superior movement on and off the ball than arteta and even cazorla.
Though saying that I do not blame arteta for our defensive problems it is a team problem. Every team we have played this year basically have had little problems creating chances as our midfielders and forwards as a team do not defend well as a group. It is so easy for them to pass round our players and in firness though it was better when we had diaby in our cm as opposed to ramsey or wilshere but that doesn;t mean arteta is a good defensive midfielder.
“Wilshere is the only one in our midfield who can make a challenge. Arteta only ever fouls, podolski runs away from oposition midfielders, cazorla is an empty shirt defending. Arteta offers very little.”
I’ll just leave the stats here (PL only) and let people make their own mind up.
Arteta:
3.6 tackles per game, 2.8 interceptions per game
Wilshere:
1.3 tackles per game, 1.1 interceptions per game
Cazorla:
1.7 tackles per game, 1.7 interceptions per game
Podolski:
1.4 tackles per game, 0.5 interceptions per game
Taken from whoscored, provided by Opta:
http://www.whoscored.com/Teams/13/Show/England-Arsenal
Know your shit next time you want to tell me I talk rubbish.
defensive problems?
only chelsea, stoke and man city have conceeded fewer. whilst man u have conceeded 10 more than us.
as for creativity, we have created more goal scorin g opportunities than any other team
whilt only the top 4 have scored more
Arteta plays in a more defensive position than Wilshere, doesn’t it then follow that his defensive numbers would be superior to Wilshere’s? Just saying. I’d be more interested in Arteta’s numbers relative to others in his position because the sense I get when I watch this Arsenal team, aside from the poor team defending, is that Arteta lacks the mobility and pace of recovery. He also never seems to win many defensive headers although I may be proven wrong by the statistics. It also appeared that during the first few games of the season there was a better defensive team shape about this team. The Stoke game springs to mind.
@Sheila
I was only addressing Morrow’s observations about Wilshere and the other midfield players with those stats. Arteta’s numbers compare very favourably to other DMs/DCMs in the Premier League. The only player with superior defensive numbers in most respects at this time is Tottenham’s Sandro (although Arteta is actually superior in two areas that might surprise – tackles and aerial duels!)
A few others like Diame (West Ham) and Schneiderlin (Southampton) also score highly but it has to be taken into account they play for sides who spend less time with the ball and a lot more time defending it, and of course their use of the ball won’t be anywhere near Mikel’s level.
Overall Arteta is 7th in the whole Premier League (all players, not just DMs or midfielders) for tackles per game, and 8th for interceptions per game. And he’s no.1 for most passes per game (87.3 average p/g) and pass accuracy (92.6%). His ball retention and circulation is unparallelled.
It’s all here for your perusal:
http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/3389/Stages/6531/PlayerStatistics/England-Premier-League-2012-2013
Wrenny, you are spot on. I’m glad someone made the point.
Just because Wilshere is young and still learning his trade doesn’t mean he isn’t supported and loved. People have to get over this childish lack of criticism of their favorites. When Wilshere learns all the nuance of his position (2-3 years time), he will truly be a world class player. He is moving at an excellent rate of development toward that goal but he’s still got a ways to go…which is pretty much the case for most 20 year olds, barring Messi and Pele, etc.
Doesn’t mean he’s not one of the best youngsters in Europe, just an honest (and accurate) assessment of his play.
Should be looking at getting Sissoko from Toulouse, Coq still has a long way to go
And as much as like and rate Coquelin he is not a patch on Arteta. Mikel is superior in every single respect, including his defensive abilities. Coquelin throws himself around into tackles in an exciting but often not very effective way, he has a lot to learn. For me there is no player in the Premier League I would rather have in Arteta’s position than Arteta.
I agree that Arteta should stay where he is for now…that being said, who’s to say that Coquelin can’t learn from the best and keep in improving.
So far as WIlshere goes, he is the only one, out of our starting central 3 midfielders, who can tackle, and isn’t afraid to put his foot in. I don’t see him being too aggressive. He stays when he has to stay, and he drives forward when he is supposed to. We need someone in there who can hassle the opposition, and WIlshere is that man. Arteta cannot do it because of his lack of pace, and Cazorla won’t do it because he just won’t. I don’t believe in passive defending!!! You are just asking for the opposition to attack you if you defend passively!!! Not a good strategy for any club in my humble opinion. Not at this level.
No, Wilshere loves a tackle, which isn’t the same as knowing how to tackle. He gives away more fouls (1.6 per game) than he makes successful tackles (1.3 per game), while Arteta and Cazorla are far more efficient in the tackles/ratio.
If by ‘passive defending’ you mean keeping a good shape that blocks off forward passing options, and by active defending you mean pressing players you have no chance of winning the ball from and leaving big gaps in front of your backline for them to pass into, then give me passive defending every day of the week.
We all love young Jack and his passion but he’s not the finished article. He’s only 20 years old and in his enthusiasm to win back possession he often gets attracted towards the ball, abandons Arteta and a good team shape, and leaves big gaps between our midfield and backline for the opposition to pass and/or drive into.
*tackles/fouls ratio.
True. Thats why Arteta is sitting deep most of the time and exposed. People sayin Arteta doesnt know how to tackle wheras Wilshere knows ,just bcoz hes more aggressive is insane.. Wilshere still has alot to learn in terms of composure which Arteta has.
I agree with Wrenny that Wilshere quite often try to press on his own resulting in exposing the back 2 (our full backs tend to push so higher, they should be renamed midfielder) plus Mikel.
Instead of blaming Wilshere the question should be why is the rest of the team not pressing in concert? The only other midfield player with a sense of responsibility is the Ox. Podolski does not do instinctively, Gervinho has to shouted at to do it and Walcott refuses to do it because he see himself as a striker and consider tracking as beneath him.
Compare that with both Manchester where all strikers and attacking midfield players defend. RvP,Rooney, Chicharito, Tevez, Aguero harass their opponent centre halves. Ours statically look on and let the opposition play. Ramsey is a specialist of tracking his player up to the 18 meter line and then letting go usually to score.
One of area where I think Coquelin is superior to Arteta is forward play. Mikel rarely runs at the opposition with the ball. Also he rarely makes a forward pass in first intention. Against Bradford, before Wilshere took responsibility our goal scoring opportunities nearly all came from him.
Coquelin for me is a box to box player. Almost the same like alex song. He has good attacking qualities and likes to move forward and contribute upfront
“Instead of blaming Wilshere the question should be why is the rest of the team not pressing in concert?”
If Jack is the only one pressing then I think it’s fair to assume that the rest of the team are following their instructions and he isn’t. I don’t have a problem with Wilshere pressing, it’s lead to some good opportunities with him nicking the ball and driving forward with it. But he can’t just press all the time, he has to be selective or he’s just wasting energy and creating huge pockets of space. And obviously it needs to be done as a team. But with Arteta and Cazorla playing a lot of football they’ve looked fatigued, and Mertesacker is not a defender made to play a high line, so it’s understandable if Wenger feels the best course of action is to defend slightly deeper with more relaxed pressing and look to break quickly through Wilshere’s driving runs.
I may well be in the minority here, but I thought that Coquelin acquitted himself quite well, when played at full-back last season.
Who knows how far he may have come in that position if injury had not blighted his opportunity a year ago?
No Wrenny, that’s obviously not what I meant. It was more a dig at the other players for letting the opposition play too much. Last match I know I saw Wilshere complete at least two crucial tackles…He’ll keep on improving…I remember you complaining about Wilshere’s defending two seasons ago as well. All I know is he’s probably our most complete midfield player…you don’t need statistics to prove that.
Coquelin, Diaby and Frimpong are very good in the DM position but I think our system is not defense minded. Compare us to Stoke City who never give the opposition breathing space whether they are winning or not.
Reading the vast majority of reply’s to this post it would seem the biggest problem at Arsenal is its fans, never can so many have spouted such anti Arsenal rubbish before,if Arsenals fans are such poor losers and squealers then is it any wonder the club is no longer championship winners, Perhaps if the ‘so called’ fans got behind the team and management instead of knocking them the glory days would be back,
If you think this rather mild, rather civilised discussion about our midfield is anti Arsenal then maybe reading Arsenal blogs isn’t for you. I don’t think you could take reading practically every player at the club and the manager being abused constantly with foul language as they are in so many other places, where ‘fans’ think it’s acceptable, for example, to call Ramsey a “crippled sheep-shagging cunt”. That’s funny to them apparently. We’re the height of positivity and good manners here compared to that lot.
Hear hear Wrenny, some of the sick poison I read, occasionally, on other so-called Arsenal blogs, is really quite disturbing…
There are some very ‘unhappy’ people out there, sadly masquerading as Arsenal fans…
That’s why I thoroughly recommend the away games. An afternoon spent in the company of some the finest Arsenal fans you’ll ever get to meet..
@ a morrow, not sure where you got your blueprint for a DM from but for a long time it was called the Makelele position, in honour of an extremely effective asthmatic gallic dwarf. Watch Arteta for match.
The current problem with the midfielder is when we don’t have possession the midfielder trio isn’t a “2-1″ which it was with Diaby in it at the start of the season. Diaby was playing more deeper than Wilshere is now. Wilshere is playing further forward it’s almost a “1-2″ now with with Arteta holding, Wilshere pushed up further and Santi just ahead of him. Arteta get’s outnumbered against the opposition to much because Jack and Santi are so far forward.
When we have the ball Wilshere will sometimes, not always, move forward and create a ’1-2′ midfield, but off the ball it seems like the plan is for him to fall back and form a pivot with Arteta for a ’2-1′ (a 4-2-3-1 defensive shape) because that’s his first instinct when we lose possession; to get behind the ball and ‘touch base’ with Mikel. But as play progresses he is prone to drifting back up the pitch and out of a good position to try and win the ball. What I’ve observed tells me it’s not a tactical decision to have Wilshere chasing and Arteta isolated, it’s his naive enthusiasm that’s making that happen.
You guys should stop criticizing little Jack, he’s still learning his trade, at 20 he has so many responsibilities. I believe AW and SB will get that sorted out because wilshere is one of few Arsenal players that plays with their heart and it relates to us the fans.
Can’t say I see a great player in the makings in Coquelin…
I think time will push one of Frimpong and Coquelin away from the club. If we had more time we could wait for Frimpong to recover and see how well he would do in the first team again. If we had time we could play Coquelin instead of Arteta in a few matches, and see how he would do, but seeing as we need to win, or supposedly need to win now, one or both might not get the chance they deserve. I think both will surprise a few people if given the opportunity. I think Frimpong’s passing is underrated, while Coquelin’s is a bit overrated. I think they are nearly the same when in posession, Coquelin just has a lot more pace, so that might edge it for him. I like both players, and I hope to see them in the same squad, not starting eleven, YET. Put them back in the squad, see how they do, and then go from there.
I would disagree. Le coq is massively under rated. I think he was brilliant for us last year yet everyone was banging on about the ox
I think both Frimpong and Coquelin are underrated. That being said, it sounds like Diaby is getting fit again. For all the talent that Diaby brings, I can see Coquelin being dismayed by this because he will be behind Diaby in the pecking order. If Diaby could stay fit, this would rightly be the order of things. He can’t though, and if Diaby cannot last until the end of this year, for the first time ever I would consider his position at the club to be in grave danger!!! He either has to tough it out somehow, or leave and let Coquelin or Frimpong or both take his place. Or a new signing, whomever that may be. I love what Diaby brings, and watching him manhandle and outmaneuver the opposition, but these displays are far too rare due to his injuries, and our patience with him is coming at the cost of developing two of our academy lads, as well as preventing us from making a signing in his position if Frimpong and Coquelin aren’t up for the task of replacing Diaby. We will never know if they are until one or both get a run in the first team. So speculating on if one or both will, should, or can make it is very difficult!!!
First of all, Coquelin is my favourite in the whole squad. However, I think he’s time is not now, Arteta is there. The team that plays week in week out is a bit too weak for his introduction. Just look at what happened to Ramsy. Jack is a bit special, but Diaby just happens to give him way, if I may call it that. He’s fortunate to START every weekend.
My favourite team in two or so years should have Coquelin (not any other funy name out there) where Arteta is, Jack even mentioned him in one of the recent contract signing interviews. Remember the juniors F.A Cup wining team??? Those two bossed the midfield. They will hold our centre in many years to come. In my opinion. Wenger must just keep him well.
He is still young and at the minute I can’t see him breaking up the trusted three in the centre of midfield. That being said he is a good squad player for the time being and with Diaby coming back I think the two of them could play well together in less important fixtures or in the cup. Will he be willing to bide his time? That is the problem of having foreign players but hopefully he is no different.
Arteta not good enough, sideway passer of the ball.
Cazorla better suited to the wings.
Wilshere lack positional sense.
We need Diaby back, Arsenal’s best player
What’s with all the sudden criticism of Jack Wilshere??? Scholes wasn’t known for his defensive awareness or positioning, yet he is a footballing legend. The real master of United’s midfield though was Roy Keane, who is very underrated in my opinion. I know that’s anathema coming from an Arsenal fan, but it’s true. Aside from Vieira he was the most dominant midfield force in the Premier League. If Wilshere can emulate either one, which he can, then we’ll have the best midfielder in the Premier League once again.
Yanbi, Diaby MIGHT be ONE OF our best players, but I think it’s time Arsene found another player with similar talent, no matter what age, but with a better injury record. I love Diaby too, but it’s time to stop relying on him. Can’t you see the logic behind that thinking???
I never meant to make it about Jack, I was standing up for Arteta more than anything. I find it baffling that quite a chunk of fans don’t rate the most complete, consummate midfielder at the club and probably the league. Other than pace, I don’t believe there’s anything Arteta lacks.
And to point out that the defensive side of the game of a 20 year old attacking midfielder needs work shouldn’t be seen as scathing criticism, it’s completely understandable. I love him dearly and I’ll be shocked if he’s not the best midfielder in the world by the time he’s 25. Also, the errors he makes aren’t down to him being lazy or having poor awareness but because he’s such a fiercely determined, hard working player that doesn’t (yet) know when to stop.
I don’t know what we need to help our defense at the moment…if it’s not Vermaelen, it’s Gibbs. If it’s not Gibbs it’s Sagna, of all people!!! I know Per was missing but everyone was playing in their normal positions…I thought Koscielny was fine though. I’m sure someone will point out a mistkae or two he made as well though, to be fair, but I can’t remember too many…I thought Szczesny was fine!!! I think and hope that this was just one bad match by our defense. I hope it’s not an omen of things to come from them.
This makes you realise how much we miss per!!!!!
Great conversation about Coquelin, and by extension about Arsenal’s midfield.
However, I’m quite surprised that out of >40 comments nobody mentioned Denilson once!!
Remember Denilson? Defensive midfield player, imposed himself in a very good Sao Paolo team that just won the Copa Sudamericana. He should be back in training this week.
Obviously, the odds are against him playing for the Arsenal ever again but his form might have given AW some food for thought. After all we’re just one Arteta injury away from being too Coquelin reliant.
I watched a couple Sao Paolo games this year to see how good Lucas Moura is and Denilson was solid to be fair. Worth a thought.