Francis Coquelin

I’ve still yet to see anything compelling for the kante > coquelin discussion.

And yes, as anyone with half a braincell knows, stats are a tool to enhance discussion, not as the be all and end all of discussion.

Watch a bit more of Kante and a bit less of Coquelin and maybe you might see what pretty much everybody else sees

1 Like

Koscielny is only just now getting recognition as one of the best

1 Like

That’s because for a good couple of seasons, for all the spectacular games he’d have, he’d still make crucial mistakes and his positioning often left a lot to be desired. Kosh has been rated for the last 2 seasons now, with Ferdinand calling him the best in the league last season and rightly so. But I don’t think he deserved recognition as the best in the league when he wasn’t at the time.

1 Like

I watch them both an awful lot. Hence my opinion, that there really is little to separate them.

Ive even asked you to provide me a reasonable explanation because I’m honestly open to changing my opinion, but have yet to see anything reasonable to make me agree.

That’s because I shouldn’t have to provide you with a reasonable explanation for something that is so incredibly obvious. Virtually the entire forum wanted an upgrade to Coquelin in the summer, virtually the entire forum put Xhaka ahead of Coquelin in the starting 11 up until Xhaka’s recent debacle against Swansea. But because Coquelin has had a few good games on the spin he’s suddenly held in high regard by the entire forum again. It’s how fickle fans are that annoys me. We’re all prone to knee jerk reactions every now and then but people often forget that Coquelin was seen as a third/fourth choice central midfielder for much of the campaign up until everybody could see Xhaka needs a bit more time to adapt.

3 Likes

I maintain my stance then. :slight_smile:

Fans like transfers.
They would say shit like "Schneiderlin is better DM than Coquelin " to justify the transfer.
Again not a good indication of someone’s estimation of a player.

Agreed.

I dont agree when fans/punditd etc say a player is phenomenal after one or two good seasons. To be truly recognised as one of the best you have to show you can do it season in season out. Koscielny has gradually improved every season leading up to now where he can truly be called one of the best defenders around.

Koscielny has been class for 3-4 seasons now.
I don’t understand the logic of judging a defender on one or two mistakes he made, rather than an entire season of consistency.

You could’ve considered as well me of those fans who screams stats but then rebuke them when it really doesn’t back your point; so your opinion becomes very subjective but then argue that fans are fickle because their rate a player higher than another that you don’t. One thing for sure people on OA are bipolar when it comes to Coqelin Xhaka thing; they are two different archetypes one is athletic DM with good feet and passing, the other is Deep lying playmaker that can dictate play; now what this boils down to is preference, functionality and tactics both are good in they respective positions and play.

Even what you’ve said about kosh is laughable; he is only being recognised now because pundits can talk trash about our defence anymore.

Squawka comparisons :facepalm: They really don’t tell us much and should never be used on central midfielders or defenders. And besides, it took me like one minute to find a few other midfielders in the PL with better stats (Herrera, Drinkwater, Romeu, Henderson). Not that it means much to me, but since Squawka comparisons apparently mean that Coquelin > Kanté, then you should remain consistent. :stuck_out_tongue:

If you guys just simply have to single out an Arsenal midfielder, then Cazorla should be the one. Not this guy, who is just one of many average destroyers out there.

1 Like

Wonder twin powers activate in the shape of being right.

1 Like

http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2016/04/krabs-meme-th.jpg?itok=q17Ija1l

I don’t get it. (And yes, I googled the image, but still…)

What’s so confusing? The case in favor of Coquelin as the best dm in the PL is based on stats. So, if you’re going to be consistent, go ahead and say that he’s better than Kanté (which ofc is wrong). But then you’re also gonna have to admit that Herrera, Romeu, Drinkwater and Henderson, for the same reasons, are better than Coquelin.

Except it isn’t based on stats.

2 Likes

No the whole conversation was primarily a discussion about just the eye test and on field performance. It proceeded to turn into a stats discussion where the false claim was made Kante had better stats. So we went to the stats to disprove that theory. At least I agree stats don’t tell the whole story.

How did he play last night?

Did he play well with h Xhaka?

Nothing great to talk about. Ref giving him absolutely nothing also didn’t help.

:coq:

He was pointless. Would definitely prefer Elneny with Xhaka.