Francis Coquelin

Francis Joseph Coquelin (French pronunciation: ​[fʁɑ̃sis kɔklɛ̃]; born 13 May 1991) 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

Coquelin was born in Laval, Mayenne. He began his career playing for AS Laval Bourny 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

On 22 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.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Франсис Коклен (russian)