Francis Coquelin

Coquelin was born in Laval, Mayenne from parents originating from Réunion and has Malagasy roots. He began his career playing for AS Bourny Laval 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. Coquelin played for the first team in Arsenal's pre-season matches against Barnet and Szombathelyi Haladás in the summer of 2008, and made his competitive first team debut for Arsenal in a 6–0 win over Sheffield United on 23 September 2008, coming on as a substitute for Fran Mérida to play at right back. Coquelin scored his first goal in an Arsenal shirt in a reserve match against Stoke City on 6 October 2008, shooting powerfully in from the edge of the box with his weaker left foot. He was a regular for Arsenal's reserves during the 2009–10 season, playing 12 times and scoring twice. On 22 September 2009, he made his first start for the first team against West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup third round, playing 58 minutes before he…

As of match played 2 May 2026

Coquelin is a France youth international having earned caps for the under-17s, under-18s, under-19s, under-20s and under-21s. Coquelin played a key role in France winning the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, starting four of France's five matches. In the semi-final against Croatia, Coquelin skipped past three challenges and slipped a pass through for Cédric Bakambu to score the winning goal and put France into the final. Coquelin, as well as former Arsenal teammate Gilles Sunu, were named in France under-20s' final 21-man squad that competed at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Coquelin started and completed all seven of France's world cup matches, as France finished fourth in Colombia. Coquelin received his first red card at the under-21 level in the 2–1 defeat to Slovakia; he was shown a straight red card after a challenge on Filip Kiss.

Arsenal Youth

FA Youth Cup: 2008–09 Arsenal

FA Cup: 2014–15, 2016–17 FA Community Shield: 2015 Valencia

Copa del Rey: 2018–19 Villarreal

UEFA Europa League: 2020–21 France U19

UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2010