Gunners boss holds his hands up over handling midfield star.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he got it wrong in trying to offload midfielder Francis Coquelin earlier this season, The Sun reports.
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The 23-year-old has found himself as one of the club’s key players this term, and is likely to feature against QPR on Wednesday night wearing a protective mask after breaking his nose.
Coquelin’s rise to prominence this season has been a shock to fans, but apparently no one is more shocked than Wenger himself.
“Coquelin’s form has been a surprise,” Wenger said.
“He wasn’t in my plans at the start of the season and my view was that if he wasn’t playing by Christmas with only six months of his contract left, I would let him go somewhere else.
“He was not happy when I called him back from a loan at Charlton in December because he was playing there and he thought I just wanted him back as cover for injuries.
“He has gone through a lot of doubt questioning himself and was certainly discouraged many times.”