Francis Coquelin training as a centerback

In light of the news that Per Mertesacker will be sidelined for a few months, and given that Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel will be unavailable for some time due to holiday and tonsillitis, respectively, Francis Coquelin has begun emergency training as a centerback presumably to spell relief for Calum Chambers and Rob Holding in Arsenal's upcoming friendlies.

Coquelin reveals on Arsenal snapchat that he trained at centre back today.

— Jeorge Bird (@jeorgebird) July 27, 2016

Though it's no reason to panic, mostly because the upcoming games are friendlies and the transfer market is still open for a month, it's not exactly reassuring to see that the team's most aggressive midfielder is getting ready to be an emergency sub at a position which often calls for calm heads. We've seen how this worked out with Gabriel and Coq likely won't be much of an improvement, if at all.

Let's hope for a speedy Kos and Gabs return and for this to be just a one-off experience to quickly move past.