Arsenal once again walking a tightrope, balanced precariously by Francis Coquelin

Francis Coquelin shown during Arsenal's loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday. Dylan Martinez / Reuters / September 19, 2015

"I'm still here," said Mathieu Flamini. The reminder was necessary, even if scorers of a matchwinning North London derby double are not easily forgotten by the Arsenal faithful. The Frenchman has not played a single minute in either the Premier League or the Uefa Champions League this season. Arsene Wenger's claims he fought to keep his compatriot sounded rather less credible than his assertion that he had told the 31-year-old midfielder it would be hard for him to get first-team football this season.

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Because since Flamini’s credentials as a defensive midfielder, like Mikel Arteta’s the season before, were diminished at Anfield in December, a young countryman was propelled to a position of rare prominence. Francis Coquelin, on loan at Charlton Athletic 10 months ago, became the most important player in the Premier League.

Not so much because of his qualities, considerable as they are, but because he was rendered irreplaceable and indispensable by the lack of alternatives. He, rather than Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez, became Wenger’s pivotal player. He, not Eden Hazard or Sergio Aguero, has perhaps the greatest responsibility of anyone in the Premier League. It is because of the void left in his absence.

Coquelin is Arsenal’s sole real defensive midfielder: the other deep-lying player deployed in the centre of the pitch is Arteta, but, like Flamini, the Spaniard lacks Coquelin’s athleticism. He is one of the division’s premier ball-winners. Arteta’s first start of the season, against Dinamo Zagreb, was notable because Arsenal were particularly susceptible to the counter-attack. Their propensity to surge forward means they, more than most, require a high-class destroyer, not a slowing creator.

They should have signed one. Wenger’s reluctance to bid for Morgan Schneiderlin, one who long seemed ideal for Arsenal, remains a mystery. Wenger opted not to buy him, or the all-action Geoffrey Kondogbia, who also represents an upgrade on Flamini or any other outfield players for that matter. Arteta’s recently awarded contract reflects upon a more widespread problem, of what to do with an ageing, admired captain whose physical capacities are declining.

Even in his younger days, he was more effective alongside a more forceful, box-to-box presence. Now Coquelin’s normal sidekick is Santi Cazorla, a superior distributor to Arteta but another lacking in power. They are a fine blend of opposites, but everything has conspired to render the uncapped Coquelin essential. Unlike in the days of Patrick Vieira, alongside first Emmanuel Petit and then Gilberto Silva, Arsenal no longer boast two authoritative defensive midfielders.

They may not have one. Coquelin missed Wednesday’s League Cup win against Tottenham Hotspur with a swollen knee. “We hope it is just a short-term problem,” Wenger said. That has to be an understatement. Coquelin is required, and not just at Leicester City on Saturday. Arsenal were notably more open after he departed at half time against Chelsea on Saturday, and not merely because they had already been reduced to 10 men by Gabriel Paulista’s red card.

This has been a fraught campaign for Arsenal, forever worrying about Coquelin’s availability. The Frenchman was fortunate to escape a red card in August’s win at Crystal Palace which, besides rendering the end of a tight game tougher, would have ruled him out of the following match, against Liverpool. The attempt to rest him in the Champions League backfired. Wenger had to send a second-half SOS to Coquelin.

Arsenal’s seasons tend to have similarities and there is already the sense history is repeating itself. Wenger was expected to sign a striker in the summer of 2013. He did not, and when Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Theo Walcott were injured, it left them with only the unwanted Nicklas Bendtner to understudy Olivier Giroud. Then, as now, a Frenchman shouldered a huge burden in an unbalanced squad. Then, as now, the situation rendered him the most important player in the Premier League.

Giroud initially responded wonderfully well. Yet his efforts took a toll. He was overworked. His form suffered. Now Arsenal’s dependency on Coquelin seems still greater. Without reinforcements, it is hard to see how they can omit him from any pivotal match.

It is a compliment to any player when he is necessary, but negligence contributes to a reliance on one who, a year ago and like Flamini recently, was Arsenal’s forgotten man.

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