Francis Coquelin may now be the heir apparent to Arsenal’s holding midfield position but Arsene Wenger has revealed how he expected the 23-year-old to leave the club this season.

The Frenchman made just one appearance for the Gunners prior to a loan spell at Championship club Charlton and his Arsenal career appeared to be over before an injury crisis prompted his recall in December.

Coquelin was left out of the club’s first match after his return - against Wednesday night’s opponents Queens Park Rangers - but he has played every League and Champions League match since.

Wenger admitted he had not foreseen the turnaround in Coquelin’s fortunes. “He was not in my plans at the start of the season,” he said.

“I told him, at the start of the season, to give absolutely everything from the start of the season until Christmas. Then we will see together and see where you are. If you respect that you have done a big part of your job.

“Did I think the chat in mid-season would be about him leaving? Yes. In myself, if he doesn't play at Christmas at all, and there's only six months contract to go, I let him go somewhere else. For him to get an extension of the contract you let the boy go, you don't leave him completely out of the squad for six more months.

“He wasn't happy when I called him back. He played at Charlton and he thought I just called him back for cover. He expected in fact to play against QPR and was not playing and was surprised when I played him against West Ham.

Arsenal v Everton - player ratings 24 show all Arsenal v Everton - player ratings 1/24 David Ospina: 7 Quick off his line to spare Gabriel Paulista blushes in the first half and produced a wonderful one-handed save to deny Romelu Lukaku after the break. A solid afternoon. GETTY 2/24 Hector Bellerin: 7 Combined well with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and got forward well. Looks assured on the right of the Arsenal defence. GETTY 3/24 Gabriel Paulista: 6 Showed the good and bad sides of his game. Gabriel was guilty of some suicidal defending in the first half when he almost allowed Romelu Lukaku in on goal. But then produced a brilliant tackle to deny Lukaku with the Everton forward bearing down on goal. A poor pass late on gifted possession to Aaron Lennon midway inside the Arsenal half and nearly put Arsenal in trouble. GETTY 4/24 Laurent Koscielny: 7 Had a real battle with Romelu Lukaku. Caught out by the Everton forward in the first half and was booked for a cynical challenge on Aaron Lennon in the second half after Gabriel Paulista's mistake. GETTY 5/24 Kieran Gibbs: 6 Had a solid game at left-back. GETTY 6/24 Francis Coquelin: 7 Received lengthy treatment after a nasty clash of heads with Olivier Giroud in the second half but had another good game. His defensive qualities mean he is becoming an important part of the Arsenal midfield. Eventually forced off late on with blood pouring from his mouth from the clash with Giroud. GETTY 7/24 Santi Cazorla: 6 Captaining the side, Cazorla tried to make things happen but was denied space by Everton. Played a neat one-two with Olivier Giroud before hitting a shot just over and also forced Tim Howard into a good save. GETTY 8/24 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7 At fault for Monaco's third on Wednesday night, Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of Arsenal's better performers here. Had a good game before being replaced by Tomas Rosicky on 82 minutes. GETTY 9/24 Mesut Ozil: 6 A peripheral figure against Monaco, Ozil was better here. He played the ball into the area for Olivier Giroud to score Arsenal's winner and nearly added a second when he had a shot blocked. GETTY 10/24 Alexis Sanchez: 6 Arsenal need Sanchez firing again. Struggled to make an impression on the game. GETTY 11/24 Olivier Giroud: 7 Arsene Wenger stood by Giroud after his disappointing night against Monaco and that decision paid of with Arsenal's opener. He steered Mesut Ozil's cross past Tim Howard. GETTY 12/24 Tomas Rosicky: 7 Came on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and sealed an important win. Getty 13/24 Tim Howard: 6 Could do little about the first goal and absolutely nothing about the second, which looped past him like an unsolvable riddle 14/24 Seamus Coleman: 5 Got forward frequently and industriously as a wing back, though was just as often forced onto the defensive 15/24 Phil Jagielka: 7 Courageous as ever. Produced a key block on Ozil on 80 minutes to keep Everton in touching distance at 1-0, while a block on a Bellerin thunderbolt in the first half was just as important 16/24 John Stones: 6 At fault for neither of the goals, and produced a generally solid display 17/24 Luke Garbutt: 6 Martinez thinks he could play for England – on this showing, he could well have another developing gem on his hands 18/24 James McCarthy: 7 An elegant soul who would not look out of place in Arsenal’s midfield; he improved along with his teammates in the second half, though without cutting edge. 19/24 Muhamed Besic: 5 Hauled off for Steven Naismith on 77 minutes as Everton searched for more attacking verve, but his bity style is increasingly a key feature of the Everton midfield 20/24 Gareth Barry: 6 Mr Reliable’s ageing bones show their wear in contests like this. Solid, though occasionally bypassed too easily 21/24 Kevin Mirallas: 4 Electric in the Europa League, he had little chance to properly test the occasionally shaky Bellerin 22/24 Ross Barkley: 3 England’s great hope is becoming a shadowy enigma. Drifted in and out of the game, but has lost the intangible menace he had last season 23/24 Romelu Lukaku: 5 Superb against Young Boys in midweek, but Arsenal’s more mature defence gave him very little to work with. Two strong runs, thoug, and was only denied by a last-ditch block from Ospina 24/24 Steven Naismith: 5 A far better player than his unassuming nature would suggest – but he could not turn the tide towards Everton alone 1/24 David Ospina: 7 Quick off his line to spare Gabriel Paulista blushes in the first half and produced a wonderful one-handed save to deny Romelu Lukaku after the break. A solid afternoon. GETTY 2/24 Hector Bellerin: 7 Combined well with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and got forward well. Looks assured on the right of the Arsenal defence. GETTY 3/24 Gabriel Paulista: 6 Showed the good and bad sides of his game. Gabriel was guilty of some suicidal defending in the first half when he almost allowed Romelu Lukaku in on goal. But then produced a brilliant tackle to deny Lukaku with the Everton forward bearing down on goal. A poor pass late on gifted possession to Aaron Lennon midway inside the Arsenal half and nearly put Arsenal in trouble. GETTY 4/24 Laurent Koscielny: 7 Had a real battle with Romelu Lukaku. Caught out by the Everton forward in the first half and was booked for a cynical challenge on Aaron Lennon in the second half after Gabriel Paulista's mistake. GETTY 5/24 Kieran Gibbs: 6 Had a solid game at left-back. GETTY 6/24 Francis Coquelin: 7 Received lengthy treatment after a nasty clash of heads with Olivier Giroud in the second half but had another good game. His defensive qualities mean he is becoming an important part of the Arsenal midfield. Eventually forced off late on with blood pouring from his mouth from the clash with Giroud. GETTY 7/24 Santi Cazorla: 6 Captaining the side, Cazorla tried to make things happen but was denied space by Everton. Played a neat one-two with Olivier Giroud before hitting a shot just over and also forced Tim Howard into a good save. GETTY 8/24 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7 At fault for Monaco's third on Wednesday night, Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of Arsenal's better performers here. Had a good game before being replaced by Tomas Rosicky on 82 minutes. GETTY 9/24 Mesut Ozil: 6 A peripheral figure against Monaco, Ozil was better here. He played the ball into the area for Olivier Giroud to score Arsenal's winner and nearly added a second when he had a shot blocked. GETTY 10/24 Alexis Sanchez: 6 Arsenal need Sanchez firing again. Struggled to make an impression on the game. GETTY 11/24 Olivier Giroud: 7 Arsene Wenger stood by Giroud after his disappointing night against Monaco and that decision paid of with Arsenal's opener. He steered Mesut Ozil's cross past Tim Howard. GETTY 12/24 Tomas Rosicky: 7 Came on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and sealed an important win. Getty 13/24 Tim Howard: 6 Could do little about the first goal and absolutely nothing about the second, which looped past him like an unsolvable riddle 14/24 Seamus Coleman: 5 Got forward frequently and industriously as a wing back, though was just as often forced onto the defensive 15/24 Phil Jagielka: 7 Courageous as ever. Produced a key block on Ozil on 80 minutes to keep Everton in touching distance at 1-0, while a block on a Bellerin thunderbolt in the first half was just as important 16/24 John Stones: 6 At fault for neither of the goals, and produced a generally solid display 17/24 Luke Garbutt: 6 Martinez thinks he could play for England – on this showing, he could well have another developing gem on his hands 18/24 James McCarthy: 7 An elegant soul who would not look out of place in Arsenal’s midfield; he improved along with his teammates in the second half, though without cutting edge. 19/24 Muhamed Besic: 5 Hauled off for Steven Naismith on 77 minutes as Everton searched for more attacking verve, but his bity style is increasingly a key feature of the Everton midfield 20/24 Gareth Barry: 6 Mr Reliable’s ageing bones show their wear in contests like this. Solid, though occasionally bypassed too easily 21/24 Kevin Mirallas: 4 Electric in the Europa League, he had little chance to properly test the occasionally shaky Bellerin 22/24 Ross Barkley: 3 England’s great hope is becoming a shadowy enigma. Drifted in and out of the game, but has lost the intangible menace he had last season 23/24 Romelu Lukaku: 5 Superb against Young Boys in midweek, but Arsenal’s more mature defence gave him very little to work with. Two strong runs, thoug, and was only denied by a last-ditch block from Ospina 24/24 Steven Naismith: 5 A far better player than his unassuming nature would suggest – but he could not turn the tide towards Everton alone

“He knows it's an opportunity for him. Sometimes when you wait for such a long time to get your chance and you get it, the more you have suffered before, the human being is a strange animal.

“The more you have suffered before the more you enjoy it. On that front I think he has gone through a lot of doubt questioning himself, being certainly at many times being discouraged that he doesn't get a chance.

“Now that he has a chance he doesn't want to let it slip away. But he is a winner and he wants to win - that's why he is so committed.”

Wenger has long been criticised for failing to sign a bonafide holding midfielder but he believes Coquelin could provide the answer after he signed a new long-term deal with the club last month.

“Yes I think he can do it [long term],” he said. “He does the job well. I don't know if I will sign a holding midfielder yet. I will wait until the end of the season to see how well things go and where we are.

“I think Coquelin analysed well what he is good at: defending in midfield. He was in between a bit the playmaking position and a box-to-box player. He is not that - he's a sitting player who can win the ball. He restricted his game to that and you make success in life with what you're good at. You don't have all the qualities but you have to express what you're good at and he's good at that.

“It is a surprise to everybody. The only thing I do is that I never say never to anybody. In my job you have to be open-minded like that. You have to make decisions at times. But never close the door completely for anybody."