Ramsey - Coquelin is my insurance

Aaron Ramsey says Francis Coquelin's presence in midfield has given him more license to go forward.

The 23-year-old has partnered Ramsey in each of Arsenal’s last two Premier League games, helping Arsene Wenger’s side keep clean sheets in impressive wins against Manchester City and Aston Villa.

However, the Wales midfielder believes the holding midfielder’s form has also benefited the Gunners in attack.

“He’s very solid defensively, wins the ball back and gives it to other players to start off attacks,” Ramsey explained. “He’s done really well, I’ve been really impressed by the way he’s been playing and he’s earned this credit he’s getting at the moment.

“I have that insurance now where I know he’s going to be sitting in front of the back four so it allows me to get forward whenever I want. I try to get back in as much as I can and as quickly as I can.

“I’m feeling stronger every game to be able to do that. The team’s doing really well and there’s a good understanding and level of confidence at the moment.

“We’ve learnt from last season when we left ourselves a bit too open in the big away games and teams picked us off. We’ve proven that against Manchester City - sometimes you have to sit in and get bodies behind the ball to try and frustrate them. I thought we did that really well against City.”