Arsenal’s team make up is such that they need somene with a dogged approach in their midfield as they have the flair players like Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez playing further up the field which need an extra protection in behind them.
Coquelin is still new to the league and we are not exaggerating the fact here or speaking ahead of our senses. We have valid stats to prove the fact that Coquelin is indeed the best defensive player in the league at the moment.
Since Coquelin’s debut on 28th Dcemebr 2014, no other player has made more interceptions or won more 50-50s. We have the data to prove it, see these figures below:
Clearly, these stats show Arsenal have found their illusive defensive midfielder and what a gem too. He is only 23-year-old, thus he has time on his side to go and be even better at Emirates. Gunner fans can no longer claim that they do not have a proper holding midfielder in their ranks, rather if we go by the above stats, they might have the best one in the entire league at the moment.
All they would want now is for the other Arsenal midfielders to share some of the defensive burden from Coquelin and it will not only make him a better player but it will make Arsenal a greater team.
We have further compared Coquelin’s stats to the best midfielders in for the top 5 sides in the leage at the moment. Chelsea’s beast Nemanja Matic, Manchester United’s craftier Daley Blind, Liverpool’s rock Jordan Henderson and Manchester City’s engine Fernandinho are the other players which we have put against Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin.
We have selected average number/game the criteria, as it would do justice to the numbers since Coquelin has played lesser number of games than those other great players. When you will see the numbers, it will indeed surprise you and we will do this comparison once again at the end of 2014-15 Premier League to track Coquelin’s progress.
These stats certainly prove that Francis Coquelin is the best defensive midfilder in the league at the moment. Well done to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal.
Stats and Image credits: Mirror, Squawka