Coquelin: I knew I could be a star for Arsenal

Francis Coquelin has thanked Arsene Wenger for showing faith in him after impressing for Arsenal this season. The Frenchmen joined Championship outfit Charlton in November only for the loan spell to be cut short in December following injuries to the likes of Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta. Coquelin has gone on to make 13 Premier League appearances for Arsenal since, starting the last 11, and the 23-year-old feels Wenger's confidence in him is helping him flourish. "I never got the chance to have the run of games," Coquelin told the club's official website. "The manager gave it to me and I can show for the first time what I'm capable of. "It's not to be big-headed, but I've always had confidence in myself. I knew I could do good things and he's given me the chance, so now I can show it. "Sometimes you're down, sometimes you're up and you need to grab your chance when it comes. That's what happened with me, I'm very happy with it and I'm trying to keep my place in the team." Next up for Arsenal is the FA Cup quarter-final tie against Manchester United as the holders look to book a return to Wembley, and Coquelin feels a positive result will set them up well for the rest of the season. He added: "We've got a lot to fight for. We've got a big game in the Champions League [the last-16 second leg against Monaco] and we need to try and turn that one around. Everything is possible in football. "The most important thing is that we've rebuilt our confidence now and we can go there and to Manchester full of confidence to try to get a result." source: goal