Francis Joseph Coquelin was born the 13th of May 1991, and he is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club Villarreal. He has also featured for Valencia, Arsenal, Lorient, SC Freiburg and Charlton Athletic in his career.
Club career
Francis Joseph Coquelin who was born in Laval, Mayenne from parents originating from Réunion, began his career playing for AS Bourny Laval before departing in 2005 for the biggest club in the commune, Stade Lavallois. Coquelin spent three years at the club before being spotted by renowned Arsenal scout Gilles Grimandi, while on international duty, playing in a 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round qualification match against Israel.
Arsenal
Early career
According to the report from BBC sport, on the 22nd of July 2008, Coquelin joined Arsenal from Stade Lavallois following a successful trial with the club. Although he suffered a thigh injury which cut the trial short, Coquelin impressed and was subsequently offered a deal to stay in North London.
Lorient (loan)
The report has it that Coquelin opted for a move to Lorient on a loan deal that saw him play his football in France throughout the 2010–11 season. The player made his Lorient debut as a second-half substitute in the 2–1 home defeat to Nice on the 14th of August 2010
Return to Arsenal
However, the report has it that after spending pre-season at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup with France, Coquelin returned to Arsenal, and on the 28th of August 2011, he made his first team league debut against Manchester United. The player played 62 minutes in the 8–2 defeat before being substituted for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Statistics shows that Coquelin made his second Premier League start for Arsenal in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. Despite Arsenal losing the match 2–1, Coquelin was voted as Arsenal.com’s Man of the Match by fans for the first time. And on the 6th of December 2011, he made his UEFA Champions League debut for Arsenal in the 3–1 away defeat to Olympiacos, playing 67 minutes before being substituted for Tomáš Rosický.
Freiburg (loan)
ESPN sport report have it that on the 5th of July 2013, Arsenal announced that Coquelin would be loaned to SC Freiburg for the 2013–14 season. The player was played out of position on the left wing during most of his time in Germany, which he admitted he found “tough”. As per the report, he does however credit his season loan there as being beneficial to his development as a player, and in November 2013 scored his first goal at first-team level in a 2–1 win over Slovan Liberec in the UEFA Europa League.
Valencia
According to the report from SkySports, on the 11th of January 2018, Coquelin signed a contract with Spanish La Liga club Valencia for a reported fee of €14 million. The player scored the third goal of his career and his first for Valencia on the 17th of February the same year, against Malaga in the 80th minute from a corner.
Villarreal
However, on the 2nd of August 2020, Coquelin signed for fellow Spanish club Villarreal, for a reported €13 million, on a four-year deal.
International career
As per BBC sport report, Coquelin is a France youth international having earned caps for the under-17s, under-18s, under-19s, under-20s and under-21s. Coquelin played a key role in France winning the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, starting four of France’s five matches. And in the semi-final against Croatia, Coquelin skipped past three challenges and slipped a pass through for Cédric Bakambu to score the winning goal and put France into the final.
Francis Joseph Coquelin’s Net Worth and Salary
Reports from various sources have it that Francis Coquelin has a net worth of between $1 million to $5 million as of 2022 whereas he also has a handsome amount of salary which is around 716,000 GBP per year. With his calm and easy-going personality, he is expected to get more popular in the coming years.
Honours
Arsenal Youth
FA Youth Cup: 2008–09
Arsenal
FA Cup: 2014–15, 2016–17
FA Community Shield: 2015
Valencia
Copa del Rey: 2018–19
Villarreal
UEFA Europa League: 2020–21
France U19
UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2010