Arsene Wenger has admitted that he is delighted to have kept faith in Francis Coquelin as the midfielder continues to impress for Arsenal.
The 23-year-old Frenchman was among those to earn praise for his performance in Sunday's 2-0 win at Manchester City.
Coquelin has been farmed out to Lorient and Freiburg in recent seasons, and spent November on loan with Championship side Charlton Athletic, and Wenger is delighted to see him finally excel in the first team.
"I took him from France at the age of 16. Today he is 23. He has gone through some difficult periods but he's a learner from his experiences," he told the club's official website.
"I've always kept faith in him, because I told him three months ago that he needed to play somewhere.
"He accepted to go down to Charlton and had convincing performances. Now he's come back, I've played him and he's done very well."
Goals in both halves from Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud helped the Gunners beat City to move fifth in the Premier League table, one point adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United.
Shane Callaghan
