Prospect: Francis Coquelin

Age: 21 (13th May, 1991)
Position: Defensive Midfielder, Right Back
Nationality: French

Francis Coquelin is one of the most versatile players on Arsenal’s current roster and is arguably the best midfield prospects the Gunners have produced since Jack Wilshere.

Coquelin enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2012.

The France U-21 international began his career at AS Laval Bourny and then Stade Lavallois before catching the eye of Arsenal in 2008 following a successful trial, despite suffering a thigh injury cutting his trial short.

Coquelin signed with Arsenal later that year and soon established himself as a key member of the Arsenal reserve team where Arséne Wenger made sure the player became familar with the position of right back, which he had never played in before.

Returning to his home nation in 2010 Coquelin joined Ligue 1 side FC Lorient to gain valuable first team experience and guidance under renowned coach Christian Gourcuff, father of Lyon star Yoann Gourcouff and a manager who has developed the likes of Laurent Koscielny, André-Pierre Gignac and Kevin Gameiro.

He made 24 appearances in Ligue 1 for FC Lorient in what was a very succesful loan spell at the French side, with Gourcouff very keen to resign the player for another season, however Arséne Wenger was keen for the player to rejoin the first team in what would be his breakout season.

Coquelin made 17 appearances for Arsenal in the 2011-2012 campaign and was a key member of the sides Premier League and both cup campaigns with the player making appearances as a holding midfielder, right back and left back.

Coquelin outshone his young defensive midfield competition in the form of Emmanuel Frimpong who passed less in games, passed with poorer accuracy, fouled more often and tackled less frequently than Coquelin.

An extremely competent and efficient passer (84.7% pass success rate) Coquelin can provide both defensive depth and the ability to aid attacking moves with accurate passing and fluent  movement.

The young Frenchman’s tackling ability is what makes him really stand out from other players and with an impressive average of 3.2 tackles per game paired with only 0.5 fouls Coquelin can tackle very effectively without getting intro unnecessary trouble with the referee.

Coquelin will hope to build on the success of his Asian Tour performances.

The elegance in both is passing and tackling is a joy to watch and anyone that has watched the youngster in action will know how confident he is in both these areas, regardless of whether he is playing right back, left back or a holding midfield role.

Coquelin has a big part to play in Arsenal’s 2012-2013 campaign and his versatility and dependability will certainly provide him with the tools to be a future Arsenal midfield star and potential successor to Alex Song.

Prospect: Serge Gnabry

Age: 17 (14th July, 1995)
Position: Attacking Midfielder/ Winger
Nationality: German

Serge Gnabry is one of Arsenal’s brightest young talents, a powerful and strong midfielder who combines that with pace and an eye for goal, the youngster is certainly developing into an exciting prospect for Arsenal.

Gnabry is a player who excels through the midfield, he’s at his most competent playing an attacking midfield role however the player is also very handy down both wings.

Serge Gnabry is one of Arsenal’s hottest prospects.

Raised in Stuttgart, Gnabry was an ace for his local youth team before joining Bundesliga side Stuttgart’s youth ranks, despite his father previously turning them down preferring his son to develop away from an academy.

During his time at Stuttgart the young German won Player of the Tournament at the 2010 Nike Cup, which spurred Arsenal to offer Gnabry a trial, where he impressed and was subsequently signed to a youth contract.

Gnabry was an instant success in the youth team, scoring six times in eight games for his side and then once he was promoted to the reserve level he cored twice in six appearances and as well as his club performances Gnabry has represented Germany’s U16 and U17 teams.

Gnabry could also be a future star for Germany.

The childhood Barcelona supporter has shown immense talent and this has been recoginised by Arsenal who offered him his first professional contract in July of 2012, which he signed.

Gnabry was given his biggest opportunity yet this summer when he was chosen to be part of Arsenal’s German training camp where he will be alongside first team regulars like Robin van Persie, Laurent Koscielny and compatriot Per Mertesacker.

He told Arsenal’s official website: “It is a very big chance and I hope I take it. At the beginning I was a bit nervous but I settled down after some time. You just get into training, try your best and then learn a lot from the other players.”

“The boss tells me that I have a good chance and I have to use it. This season I hope to get some appearances in the Capital One Cup and even in the Premier League. I just have to try my best and hopefully train with them every day to develop myself.”

This season will be a huge opportunity for the rising star and with the chance to appear on League Cup games as well as possibly Premier League games throughout the year Gnabry could be Arsenal’s surprise package of the 2012-2013 season.

Prospect: Thomas Eisfeld

Age: 19 (18th January, 1993)
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Nationality: German

Having joined Arsenal in January 2012 as an unknown entity to many fans, Thomas Eisfeld has quickly established himself as one of Arsenal’s brightest stars for the future and a player who could muscle his way into the first team in the next few years.

Eisfeld is one of Arsenal’s top young talents

Eisfeld learned his craft in his home nation of Germany at none other than Borussia Dortmund’s famed ‘BVB Academy’ which has also produced upcoming stars Mario Gotze, Marco Reus, Nuri Sahin and Marcel Schmelzer where he showed great promise.

The German youngster was also an ace at the youth international level having captained the Under-15 national side, however a cruciate ligament injury in 2009 could have potentially ended the players career, setting his development back.

Following month of scouting in a season which saw Eisfeld dominate the Bundesliga’s Under-19’s league with six goals  nd six assists in only 12 appearances Arsene Wenger was ready to make a move for the player.

Arsenal then ran an almost endless amount of medical examinations to assess the players fitness following his injury, he passed them all and joined Arsenal on January 31st and fulfilled a life long dream of playing alongside Tomas Rosicky.

“My hero was Tomas Rosicky. I have a picture of him in my room and it’s fantastic to play with him,” Eisfeld said earlier this year.

“In my opinion, he’s a great player and I focus on his game. But I play a little bit differently. I think I can read the game very well and my technique is quite good.”

“I feel proud because to train with players like Thierry Henry is a dream of each player. It’s like a dream come true for me.”

Eisfeld has truly made a name for himself on Arsenal’s 2012 Asian Tour with the youngster scoring twice for Arsenal, scoring more goals than any other player on the tour, and showing great development as he makes a push for the first team.

Eisfeld embraced by Yennaris after scoring against the Malaysia XI

Our German starlet is likely to be a key man in our League Cup campaign next season and if he fulfills his potential we might be looking at the player who can challenge for a first team place next season.

Take a look at our favourite video of Thomas Eisfeld here, where he dominates Swansea’s reserves earlier this year.