Midfielder Francis Coquelin says he never expected his Charlton Athletic loan spell to end so prematurely.
The Addicks signed the 26-year-old at the end of November for one month but his loan spell was later on extended until December 30.
But manager Arsene Wenger recalled the Frenchman from his loan on the second week of December, taking advantage of a 24-hour recall clause included in the agreement.
"[My return is] weird because the way it happened was so sudden, so I didn't expect it," Coquelin told Arsenal Player.
"I trained with the team all week and on Monday I was going to see the Charlton manager with a few other people about a change of formation.
"He explained what he wanted me to do and told me I would be a big part of the formation.
"Then on the Thursday night, I was at home watching TV and got the call from Arsenal. That's football and you just need to take it.
"I felt a little bit bad about Charlton because we had trained all week, were ready for the game and it was so sudden.
"It's part of football and my [focus] went to the Newcastle game as soon as Arsenal called me. I tried to give my best when I came on.
"Without Charlton, I probably wouldn't be here because I wasn't performing that well but they gave me the chance to play and I wasn't out of fitness when I came back. I think that helped me a lot."
