Defensive midfield was one of several positions which sections of the support called upon Arsene Wenger to strengthen during the last transfer window given the perceived lack of back-up for Alex Song but now it seems that the Frenchman is prepared to give opportunities to two budding young talents who have waited patiently to make their respective first-team breakthroughs.

Emmanuel Frimpong was provided with an opportunity as early as last pre-season, and it was one that he took with aplomb until injury effectively curtailed his 2010/11 campaign. This time around, however, he is fit again and, as such, has been officially promoted to the first-team squad, making five first-team appearances to date and has already become something of a cult hero with his Twitter musings and trademark enthusiasm.

Frimpong, strangely for a young player making in-roads into the first-team, has yet to experience a loan spell, although the likelihood is that he would have spent at least part of last season away from the club, probably with a Championship side, had he not been sidelined for so long. Francis Coquelin, his partner in the FA Youth Cup winning side of 2008/09, and fellow first-team graduate, has a stint elsewhere under his belt, having impressed whilst back in his homeland with Lorient last season and, upon his return from the recent FIFA U20 World Cup, he has been thrust into first-team action.

Both players were involved in some capacity in yesterday’s arduous 1-0 victory over Swansea at Emirates Stadium. Frimpong started the game before being replaced by Coquelin in the second period, with the former demonstrating both the pros and cons of his game at present. Frimpong, who has elected to represent Ghana at international level, is still a little tardy in possession, particularly when subjected to pressure by opponents, but his main strength lies in winning the ball back, which he succeeded in doing on several occasions yesterday.

Arsenal may have been accused of lacking leaders in the past but Frimpong, whilst possessing minimal experience at the top level, is not afraid to exert his opinion, as he demonstrated by reprimanding Andrey Arshavin when the Russian, who scored the only goal of the game, experienced a lapse in concentration that Frimpong had to rectify.

One further criticism of Frimpong is that he can occasionally be over-zealous in the tackle, as against Liverpool when he was sent off, but this is an aspect of his game that will surely be rectified as he continues to develop and gains further experience.

Coquelin, meanwhile, may not be as adventurous as Frimpong in an attacking sense, but is especially efficient in winning the ball back. It would be a little unfair to judge him on his display against Manchester United given the circumstances, but yesterday he displayed that the ruggedness that marked him out as a potential first-teamer upon his debut in a pre-season friendly against Barnet in 2008 is still intact. He has subsequently improved in terms of his distribution and can count himself a little unlucky that Frimpong was afforded something of a headstart because of Coquelin’s aforementioned international commitments.

Both players will continue to compete for first-team opportunities as the season progresses, although Song’s return for the Champions League trip to Dortmund on Tuesday means that only one of the pair is likely to make the bench for that fixture.

Their progress has been such that Craig Eastmond, who is still recovering from the injury he suffered whilst on loan with Millwall last season, is likely to find himself someway out of the first-team picture upon his return.

For Frimpong and Coquelin, though, this is no time for either to rest on their laurels as they both know that, should they falter, the other will be waiting gleefully in the wings ready to snatch the opportunity.