The first player to officially leave Arsenal this January transfer window is not Alexis Sanchez, but Francis Coquelin. After a decade at the north London club, the midfielder moves on to Valencia for just £10 million. The La Liga side announced the arrival of the Frenchman today:
? Coquelin: “Valencia CF is an excellent club and I won’t regret coming here.”
? https://t.co/rLtE7SKZrH pic.twitter.com/qQFZBzdvE2
— Valencia CF (@valenciacf_en) January 11, 2018
Coquelin becomes the club’s second signing of the January transfer window, and he said that speaking with now former Arsenal teammate Santi Cazorla played a role in his decision to transfer to the Spanish side. Cazorla is quite familiar with the club’s current manager, Marcelino Garcia Toral.
“He told me that Valencia CF is an excellent club, that I wouldn’t regret coming, and that Marcelino is a great person and a great coach,” Coquelin said.
“I respect and trust Cazorla’s word a lot, and it was a plus point for me deciding to sign for Valencia CF.”
Coquelin earned just five first team appearances for the Gunners this season, four in the UEFA Europa League. He’s been unable to unseat Granit Xhaka, and a rejuvenated Jack Wilshere in the Gunners midfield. Still this seems like a bizarre way for the Frenchman to part ways with his boyhood club.
£10m for coquelin seems a bit cheap to say the least – you struggle to buy decent championship players for £10m these days. More Arsenal weirdness
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) January 10, 2018
It was an unexpected way to see Coquelin leave.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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