Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that midfielder Francis Coquelin was "not in his plans" at the start of the season and has credited the French under-21 international for earning a regular place in his team.
Coquelin impressed once again in his defensive midfield role as Arsenal secured a valuable 2-0 win against Everton on Sunday, which cemented the Gunners position in the top three of the Premier League.
While Coquelin and the rest of his Gunners teammates came in for some criticism following last week's Champions League defeat against Monaco, Wenger suggests the 23-year-old has already achieved so much more than expected of him after he started the season on loan to Championship side Charlton.
When asked whether Coquelin was part of his first team agenda at the start of the season, Wenger responded, "He was not. I told him to give absolutely everything until Christmas, then we would see together where he was.
"If you respect that you have done a big part of your job."
With just a year left on his Arsenal contract heading into this season, Wenger went on to suggest he was already considering allowing the midfielder, who has been at Arsenal since 2008, to move on.
"In myself, I thought if he doesn't play at Christmas at all, and there's only six months of his contract to go, I [would] let him go somewhere else," said Wenger, who awarded a new long-term contract to Coquelin last month.
"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.
"He wasn't happy when I called him back [from his loan spell]. He played there and he thought I just called him back as cover. He expected in fact to play against QPR and was not playing and was surprised when I played him against West Ham.
"He knows it's an opportunity for him now. Sometimes when you wait for such a long time to get your chance and you get it, 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, certainly at many times being discouraged that he didn'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 went on to claim Coquelin is an example of a player who has learned to focus on what he is good at, rather than trying to take on a role that is out of his comfort zone.
"I think he analysed well what he is good at, defending in midfield," added Wenger. "He was in between the playmaking position and being a box-to-box player, but 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."
Wenger is hopeful that Coquelin can play in Wednesday's Premier League game against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, despite fracturing his nose during the Everton victory last weekend.