Francis Coquelin says Arsenal had to beat Bayern Munich to stay in the Champions League and hopes that last night’s 2-0 victory is a blueprint for the European tests ahead.
At the halfway stage the Gunners still sit bottom of Group F, level on points with Dinamo Zagreb and three behind both Olympiacos and Pep Guardiola’s men, however, with a win under their belt they now have a foundation on which to mount a qualification charge.
Reflecting on a memorable night at the Emirates, Coquelin praised the discipline of the defence and the manner in which his teammates shook off a lack of possession to hit Bayern on the break.
“It is always difficult against Bayern but I thought we started well and we created a big chance with Theo in the first half but we didn’t put it in the net,” he told Arsenal Player.
“The second half was always going to be tough but Olivier scored a great goal and after we felt that we could keep the heat on and after the second it was game over.
“We knew Bayern would have a lot of the ball, but in the recent games against the big teams we have not had as much possession and counter-attacked. It worked well again here and everyone defended really well and we didn’t concede any goals, so I am really pleased with the performance.
“In the first two games we didn’t perform and we knew we had to win here to stay in the competition. We have been doing really well in the league and we had to do that in the Champions League too, and we have done that so we have to carry on in that way.”
Yes, we do Francis. Yes, we do.
As we’re in a stupendous mood this morning, we thought we’d also treat you to some new Coq pics. The man really knows how to celebrate a goal…
That’s what I call a hard Coq celebration.
Pure unadulterated passion from Coq the conqueror.
he is unbelievably passionate about Arsenal and he shows it the best way possible. strikers like alexis or theo celebrate when they score. ozil or santi celebrate too when they assist but this guy does neither. He doesnt score or assist but he is the first one to celebrate like he scored an outrageous goal to win the match in the 6th minute of extra time. hopefully he will be named captain few years from now. imagine this guy and jack in terms of passion. make a video and show that to the skunk and that certain spanish crackpot over… Read more »
First comment on this blog is always a killer!
Thumb up if you want coq as our next captain
Le Coq’s abilities will scare you stiff!!
LOL!
Think his passion for club trumps the combined passion of the 300.
I fucking love this man
More coq pics please <3
Carry on being fricking awesome!
Cream
Get on top
Cream
You will coq
Cream
Don’t you stop
Cream
Sh-boogie bop
yeahhhh… maybe not 😉
Future captain? Great English, loves the club, knows the history and is extremely vocal.
Next-Viera
Looking forward to the day he scores his first Arsenal goal. Oh the celebrations.. Can seeing him scoring a Viera (vs Newcastle) like 30 yarder within the next couple of seasons! Up the Coq and up the Arse!
He had a shot yesterday from outside the box. … I can’t recall many shots from the Coq but I can imagine that sort of shot would be the ones he will eventually score!
I woke up this morning and the first thing i remembered was that my phones screen smashed into a million shreds yesterday night after the match. I wished it was a dream.
Then i immediately remembered that my 1st love, my mum is quickly recovering from a stroke and also, my 2nd love , THE ARSENAL beat Bayern. Thank you Jesus it’s not a dream, #Grateful heart.
Say a prayer for my mum guys. Thanks
Prayers to your mom
Best wishes to your mum.
Thanks. She’s doing great guys.
his shot which went wide had real good technique. see the swerve? and then the idea to do that was just awesome. he should be hitting the target with that soon with more practice. he could be our long ranger secret weapon
I love some Coq as much as anyone but I’d really prefer he didn’t work on his attacking skill. There was a time when Alex Song was looking like a world class DM but then he decided he wanted to be a number 10 (and admittedly started getting plenty of assists) but left the defence open. Hence we sold him. I’d hate for the same thing to happen to Coquelin.
And where is he now?!
Can I get the Coq imprinted on the Arsenal Tshirt?
Coq wears the red and white shirt proudly. In fact this current crop of players gets what it means to be an Arsenal player imho. This can only mean more silverware if the work ethic continues.
KEEP COQ
AND
CARRY ON
Great name.
When coq celebrates a goal, an on looker who didn’t see the goal might think he just scored a screamer from our half which is where he usually is when we score. That is true passion, I am just surprised Deschamp has continually over looked him for les blues after his performances for Arsenal over the past 10 months.
Given that we put him on the team sheet every game he is healthy I’m grateful to Didier for overlooking him. He gets to rest during the interlulls and summers. It wouldn’t do to have him become so important to France that they played him injured alla Chile and Alexis. Plus it puts a larger chip on Coq’s shoulder.
I understand the sentiment but I cannot share it. I’ve grown to truly respect our Coq’s diligence and determination to the point where I want good things to happen for him as human as well as an Arsenal player. If he has this much pride wearing our shirt how much more would it mean for him to represent his country. I begrudge him such an opportunity and I hope he becomes an indispensable member to one of the most talent loaded international midfields around. It’s not like he hasn’t done it before, COYG!
I *can’t begrudge
If he gets in the French squad that surely has to boost his confidence even more. That can only help the Arsenal. Being overlooked by Deschamps for a 30 year old who just started playing for Marseille after a year out of football must hurt him, although motivate him as well. He deserves a call up, despite all the talent France have in midfield.
I hear you, and you’re right – he deserves a call-up. I think Deschamps is looking at three things ahead of the Euro this summer: stability, chemistry, and confidence. He knows it’s a big deal, he is the French manager responsible for the behavior and performances of his squad for a Euro taking place in France. As you may be aware, the French fans are not exactly known for their patience and forgiveness when it comes to Les Bleus. Whether you agree with the justification or not, I kind of get it. Wenger himself has made his favored starting 11… Read more »
Coq is the man, carry go my guy.
Le Coq he say, get in.
That was a good job. The good news is that we can repeat that at the Allianz Arena. That would be…indescribable! We did it 3 seasons ago and we can do it again. I believe.
Full of pictures of tumescent coqs? This article needs an nsfw tag
Anyone ever noticed that if you shorten Coquelin’s name it sounds like cock, as in penis?
You just blew my mind. How have i not thought of it before? Now i understand why when i wear my Coq shirt people use the Wanker gesture at me.
It’s nothing to do with your Cog shirt
Coq
I’m not a wanker if that’s what you’re implying… or am i?
Coq-blocked
Those veins on that head.
Usually the veins are visible on the shaft. Not for or Coq though.
Only natural to see veins on a Coq.
I still remember people (not here) talking shit about Coquelin before the start of the season, going as far as to consider him the weakest link in our team. The Coq doesn’t give a fuck about such talks and only cares about us winning. Such passion from the lad.
Just want to add that I also love Coq.
If I played for us, I’d celebrate our every single goal like that! Even when we were thrashing down the opponents 5-0 6-0. 🙂