It had been rumored that Arsene Wenger was ready to let Coquelin go after his loan spell at Charlton expired, the French midfielder was recalled from his loan early and has since steadied the ship in the Gunners midfield. 

He has since signed a new contract with the club and is the first name on the team sheet in the centre of midfield, and the first person to admit how shocking his transformation has been is his French compatriot, Arsene Wenger;

"It is a surprise to everybody," Wenger said on Coquelin's reintroduction to his first-team plans.

"The only thing I do is that I never say never to anybody. In my job you have to be open-minded like that. You have to make decisions at times but never close the door completely for anybody."

The midfielder's Arsenal career seemed over following a months loan deal to Championship side Charlton, following on from a season long loan to SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga last season. Wenger admitted that Coquelin was no where near the first team at the start of the season;

"I told him at the start of the season to give absolutely everything until Christmas. Then we will see together and see where you are. If you respect that you have done a big part of your job."

Arsene Wenger has been criticised previously for not signing a defensive midfielder, however, according to OPTA stats, Coquelin has become the most effective midfielder in the Premier League winning a total of 97 duels, 21 more than any other player. He also leads the table in terms of interceptions with a total of 37, four more than Federico Fernández in second. Despite his impressive stats, Wenger refused to rule out signing a defensive midfielder in the summer;

"I don't know yet. I will wait until the end of the season to see how well things go and where we are,"

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