Arsenal fans had a mixed reaction to the January Transfer window, while Arsenal did sign a defender, Gabriel Paulista, they did not buy the other position which they needed to strengthen which was the defensive midfielder position. Flamini and Arteta have not been able to provide the kind of steel in midfield as they needed and they have had to rely on a young Francis Coquelin, who has not looked out of place at all for the Gunners but the question still remains, did Arsenal miss a trick?
A plethora of talent available on the cheap
Arsene is known to get good young players, especially ones who can be available on the cheap. Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil might be a couple of deviants from his normal transfer methodology but Arsene did have a lot of options to sign during this transfer window. Normally you do not have good enough talent available for a decent fee and that has been one of the excuses which has been used by Arsene over the years.
However, the likes of the German duo of Sami Khedira and Christoph Kramer were available on the cheap since both players were out of contract with their respective clubs Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, in fact Arsene had kept an eye on the pair all through the summer but decided not to sign either of them. The other player that Arsenal wanted to sign was Morgan Schneiderlain form Southampton but they were priced out of the player.
Although the club might not have strengthened the defensive midfield position yet, it could be a good move as they have found a gem in Francis Coquelin, who already leads the stats in the defensive midfield position for the Gunners. He has been a revelation in the position and the likes of Arteta and Flamini would be feeling the heat from this youngster.
The other positive point is that Arsenal already have a lot of midfielders, and although they are not all defensive in nature, they can still control and win games. The likes of Ramsey, Wilshere, Flamini and Arteta can all play in midfield in various permutations and combinations. If we add the strength and ability of Coquelin to this group of midfielders, what we have here is probably one of the strongest midfield lineup in the Premier League.
Arsenal did the right thing by not signing a defensive midfielder in this transfer window, they could probably sign someone for a free in the next transfer window, which they might not need to do if Francis Coquelin continues his meteoric rise and performance for the club
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