Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin has opened up about his early years at the Emiratesand admitted he was angry with his manager's refusal to play him,following a loan spell at Charlton Athletic
Coquelin has been with the Gunners since 2008 having joined the club as a youth team player.
Despite making sporadic appearances for Arsenal in the following few seasons, the midfielder was sent out on loan to Championship side Charlton Athletic in November 2014, having struggled to break into the first team at the Emirates.
Very good interview with Francis Coquelin on L'Equipe 21. Good to see him getting a bit of coverage in France pic.twitter.com/C6uFJsTefH
Coquelin impressed during his month long loan with the Addicksand saw the deal extended further, however hewas recalled by Arsene Wenger days later, after Arsenal were hit by an injury crisis in their midfield.
Despite the fitness problems, Coquelin found himself making appearances off the bench for the Gunners and has now revealed that he was annoyed with his manager during an interview with French media outletL'Equipe.
Yes, I was angry,� he said. I remember when I came back and I was on the bench for the first few games.
So I didn't understand. I said (to Wenger), ˜I was playing every game at Charlton, now I'm back here and I'm not playing.'
And I remember he said to me, ˜You'll see, your chance will come'.
And I'd go on for two minutes, three minutes, and I was thinking, ˜my chance will come'. And yes, against West Ham, the match I really wasn't expecting to start, he put me in the starting line-up.�
As Coquelin mentioned, he was finally chosen to start in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over West Ham at the end of 2014 and went from strength to strength, establishing himself as first team regular for the remainder of the campaign.
The Frenchman has now made over 100 appearances for Wenger's side and is likely to be a crucial part of the Arsenal team this season, as they seek to wintheir first Premier League title since 2004.