Coquelin lauds Arsenal squad depth; admits ‘massive relief’

Francis Coquelin believes Arsenal showed the strength-in-depth of their squad in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United.

Olivier Giroud’s last-gasp header means a six-point gap remains between United and fourth-placed Arsenal, who rode their luck at Old Trafford but were rewarded for digging deep at the end.

The France striker came off the bench in the 73rd minute to power home a cross from fellow substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, which Coquelin says underlines the impressive options at Arsene Wenger’s disposal.

READ MORE: Arsenal showed mettle of champions in Old Trafford escape

“It’s a massive relief because it was a tough game,” the midfielder told the club website. “We were 1-0 down so to come back and get a point at Old Trafford is a great result for us.

“We’ve shown this with the depth of our squad. Every time someone comes on, it puts quality in the team.

“Alex came on at right-back which isn’t his favoured position but he did extremely well. We’ve also seen Olivier’s quality as well because he only needed one touch of the ball and it went in.

“It just shows how good the squad is and how tough we are mentally.”