Tag Archives: Santi Cazorla

Santi Cazorla’s Arsenal career over – who will replace him?

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The news was as expected. Santi Cazorla has been told to undergo surgery for Achilles tendon injury.

A quick Google of recovery times shows that after surgery, someone will be able to walk unaided after 6 – 12 weeks. But will not be able to return to full activity for 6 months. Taking into account we are a football club, not a normal person going physio once a week, you could probably guestimate that Cazorla will be out for 4-6 months. Pretty much ruling him out for the season.

It is then safe to assume that Santi Cazorla’s Arsenal career is over.

Arsenal's Santi Cazorla goes down injured against Norwich City.

He is 32 in a few weeks and with 1 year left on his contract, Arsenal were already debating as to whether to reward him with a new contract. There had been little talk of one being on the table. Cazorla had also spoken a few times about finishing his career in Spain.

With his age and his recent injury record (2 serious injuries in 12 months) it will be a very big risk for Arsenal to offer Cazorla anything more than a one year deal. Cazorla would be crazy to accept – knowing that a Spanish club would possibly offer him more.

So the love story of Arsenal and their cheeky chappy Spanish dwarf is over.

So where does this leave Arsenal’s midfield?

We only discussed a week ago about how much Arsenal were missing Santi Cazorla. With his career at the club now almost certainly over, it is time to look at the options.

Like for like replacement

Santi Cazorla is unique. His two footedness is only equalled by Ronnie O’Sullivan’s ambidextrous snooker playing.

He might be small, and not be physically capable for a heated midfield battle, but he always gave his all, and his control, dribbling and passing ability got him out of trouble when up against bigger men.

He was able to wriggle out of tight situations where he should really be getting overpowered with ease. A drop of the should, a quick pass off both feet. And it is the way he opened up both sides of the pitch that made him such a danger.

The fact is, there is no one in world football who is as gifted off both feet as Santi Cazorla. So a like for like replacement is unlikely.

You might see the likes of Isco get mentioned as a replacement, yet he is more lightweight and does not have Santi’s gifts.

Nice midfielder Vincent Koziello has had some comparisons to Cazorla. But this is more due to his size than his ability. Cazorla is far superior.

The only man who gets close to Cazorla’s attributes is Dimitri Payet. But he does not have the attitude of Cazorla. He would not be able to adapt to playing deeper.

So the realise is, a like for like replacement is an unrealistic demand.

Midfield Combinations

If we can not get in a like for like replacement, we will have to look at getting the midfield pairing right. The strength of two being great than one (and the power of three setting us free).

Discounting Cazorla, Arsenal currently have 5 central midfielder’s on their books to chose from going forward (including 1 on loan). How would they match up, and how could they partner with each other?

Francis Coquelin: The legs of the midfield. He covers the ground. Arsenal’s Kante. It is he who when partnered with Cazorla, allowed Santi to stroll through a lot of games. He was Cazorla’s legs. Getting round the park, winning the ball, and laying it off to the Spaniard. It is unlikely that we will get in a player as gifted on the ball as Santi, so Coquelin’s lack of ability on the ball could see him drop down the pecking order.

Granit Xhaka: Once he gets up to speed (I am still baffled as to why Xhaka is not yet playing regulary), Xhaka will be a terrific ball playing holding midfielder. Very much in the Xabi Alonso / Michael Carrick role, he has a terrific passing range, but also has very good defensive awareness and a bit in the tackle. He is a bit more defensive than Cazorla, not as good in tight situations, and it just one footed. But his passing ability will be essential when it comes to replacing Cazorla.

Mohamed Elneny: Kind of a mix of Coquelin and Xhaka. He doesn’t cover as much defensively as Coquelin, but can get round the park more than Xhaka. He is a better passer than the Frenchman, but no where near as good as Granit. He has been exposed in a couple of recent games for not giving the defence enough cover, and not quite having enough creativity. He has a place in the Arsenal squad, but as cover, rather than first choice.

Jack Wilshere: By now he should be Arsenal captain. Instead he is on loan at Bournemouth. Some think, like Cazorla, he will not be seen at Arsenal again. If fit and firing, he would offer very similar to what Cazorla did. The passing ability, being able to take the ball in tight situations and wriggle out of them, he should be exceptional. He just lacks Cazorla’s ambidextrous. And then we have his injuries. Last year we planned to build the midfield around him, and he got injured. Can you really pencil a player into the 1st team if he can not be relied upon? I am not sure. Also, if Granit xhaka is behind him, Mesut Ozil ahead, we have a midfield 3 of left footers. Not much balance.

Aaron Ramsey: And that leaves everyones favourite, Aaron Ramsey. Who had a shocker mid week. But his class is undeniable (even if some do try and deny it). For me, his best position is as the ‘waterboy’ of the team. Doing the hard work between someone more defensive and someone more attacking. If we are under the cosh, he has the defensive awareness to sit in alongside the defensive midfielder. If we are on top, he is free to get forward and support the front 4. He just needs to be played in his right position.

So an Aaron Ramsey / Granit Xhaka combination. And it is a combination that could work.

One left footed, the other right, gives us balance not seen since Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit. Xhaka has the defensive awareness and ability on the ball to sit in front of the back 4 and start the play, as Petit used too. Meanwhile Ramsey has the legs to get around the field, press a bit higher, a bit like Vieira did.

With Mesut Ozil ahead, it should give us plenty of creative fluidity, and plenty of defensive cover.

We would then have the options of Jack Wilshere, Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin as cover depending on the opposition / injury situation.

 

Losing Cazorla will be tough. A popular player who offered so much on the pitch. But we now need to move on. Let’s get the Xhaka / Ramsey axis developed.

Who do you think should play central midfield (pick 2):

Keenos

Arsenal missing diminutive midfield star

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Four games without a win in the early start of 2016. 3 draws and a defeat. That is what derailed our title challenge in 2015/16, dropping us from 1st to 4th in just a handful of games.

The key factor of our drop in form? The absence of Santi Cazorla.

29 November 2015. Norwich away. A 1-1 draw. On the face of it, not very significant. In the grand scheme of things, an away draw in the Premier League is not a game which loses you a title.

But it was the injuries Arsenal suffered in the game that would define the season. Alexis Sanchez hobbled off after 60 minutes, but it was not the diminutive Chilean whose absence would be felt by Arsenal. It would be the diminutive Spanaird that would be missed.

Arsenal's Santi Cazorla goes down injured against Norwich City.

Cazorla went down with injury in the 46th minute after being fouled. After a minute or so delay whilst he received treatment, he hobbled back on and actually completed the 90 minutes. It was only after the game that Cazorla was diagnosed with knee ligament damage. It rules him out until April. He would not actually bee seen until the last game of the season.

In the short term, Santi Cazorla being out did not really damage Arsenal. After the draw against Norwich, Arsenal won their next 3 games, and 6 of their next 7 in the Premier League. FA Cup and Champions League wins saw this go to 8 wins in 9. The talk at the time was for all the love and praise for Cazorla, his absence was not really felt.

But it was over the long term we started to notice his absence. The short term form was great but, after the run of 6 in 7, Arsenal would only go on to win another 6 league games when Cazorla did not play. 6 out of 17. Awful form. Not title winning form. We were lucky to finish 2nd.

In the 2nd half of the season, Arsenal struggled to transition the ball from defence into attack. No deep lying ball player who could pick the ball off the centre backs and launch it further up the field accurately.

In Francis Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey, we had plenty of willing running, but not much subtile play. The play that Santi Cazorla gave us.

Arsene Wenger actually stumbled on playing Cazorla deeper when he was asked to do a more defensive job in the 2-0 away win against Manchester City in January 2015. He was Man of the Match. Ran the game. City could not get close to him.

What Cazorla gives you when playing deep is exceptional. Pirlo-esque. Maybe even better.

Having someone so talented play so deep gives Arsenal so many more options in attack. It means we can go from defence to attack quickly. It means Mesut Ozil does not need to drop deep to pick up the ball. And with Cazorla being two footed, it opens up both sides of the pitch.

Cazorla can get involved in the short passing, intrinsic play, but also hit it long if needed. He is a double threat. And also impossible to mark.

When someone is so deep, with so much ability, it gives opponents a conundrum. The attacker midfielder (someone like Ozil) is not going to work hard to get around a defensive midfielder to stop him playing. This leaves opponents in a conundrum.

Do they push forward a defensive midfielder to get around the deep lying ball player, to stop him, which in result will leave less protection in front of the defence, more space for the likes of Mesut Ozil. Or do they keep disciplined, don’t chase Cazorla, and end up letting him run the game.

Pirlo did it brilliantly for years for club and country. Cazorla does the exact same job. The main difference between Cazorla and Pirlo is that Cazorla is two footed.

Whilst I think we do clearly miss Santi Cazorla, I also think there is a little bit of getting better when not playing.

We see it in football, we see it in cricket, sportstars get better when they are not playing, if the team is struggling. By Santi Cazorla not being involved when Arsenal’s 2015/16 title challenge went up in smoke, it made people put two and two together. It made people put him on a pedastool.

We have seen them same at Manchester United with Michael Carrick. The more he does not play, the better he seems to get. The same with Paul Scholes for England.

There is no argument that all 3 players are (or have been) brilliant players. But there is certainly some part that they were made to seem even better when they were not playing.

This season he picked up an injury in the 6-0 victory over Ludogorets. 6 wins in a row before his injury. 3 wins from 7 since his injury. We miss Santi Cazorla.

At 31, with 2 long-ish terms injuries in 12 months, and his contract coming to an end (allegedly) at the end of this season, Arsenal have a decision to make on Santi Cazorla.

Do they stick with him in the hope he gets injury clear, and has a long career like Pirlo. Or do we look at the over 30 data and injury record and start planning to replace him now.

But it is not easy replacing a player like Santi Cazorla. Especially his two footness. It can not be underestimated how key opening both sides of the pitch from the middle of the park can be.

I see names such as Isco banded about. Or playing Ramsey and Granit Xhaka in tandem. But sometimes we have to accept some players have such a special  gift that they are irreplaceable.

Is Santi Cazorla irreplaceable?

Keenos

Who could replace Hector Bellerin at Arsenal?

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The leaves have started to begin to drop, the cold winds come from the east, the rain and hail from the sky, the clocks have gone backwards and the nights have drawn in. The John Lewis advert has had its first showing, Santa Clause has endorsed Coca-cola, the burning smell of fireworks night has worn off, and the Halloween sweets have been eaten. As minds turn to Christmas, it can mean only one thing. Arsenal are in the usual November injury crisis.

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Of those injured, we have the long termers in Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck. We will not see them again this year. The Big German might never play in an Arsenal shirt again. Lukas Perez and Chuba Akpom were only bit-part players, so their injuries will not be massively missed, and Santi Cazorla is set to return soon – probably the PSG Champions League game.

It is this weeks two injuries that are most concerning.

Alexis Sanchez has been killed by Chile, and Hector Bellerin massacred by Spain taking the Arsenal November injury list up to 7. Of the two, early indications show that Bellerin could be out for the longest, reports of at least 4 weeks will soon turn into a 2017 return.

So what options does Arsenal have in replacing the best right back in world football?

Carl Jenkinson

Since returning from his own 8 month lay off having suffered a knee injury whilst on loan at West Ham, Jenkinson has played 180 minutes of football for Arsenal. 90 minutes in both the League Cup against Reading & Ludogorets in the Champions League. They were not exceptional performances.

What Jenkinson showed whilst on loan at West Ham is he is a competent mid-table Premier League full back. Not a world beater, but at the same time not awful. He would do a job for Arsenal at right back against 60% of Premier League sides.

Over the years, Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were successful due to having the likes of Wes Brown, Nicky Butt and John O’Shea to call upon. None were world class players, but they were all decent Premier League players, able to perform when called upon. They gave United a bit of strength in depth, and they all loved the club.

Jenkinson falls into this category. He might not be good enough week in week out for the next 5 years to be Arsenal’s 1st choice right back, but he is certainly good enough to be our 2nd choice over that period.

What I find interesting with his situation is the boo boys who moan Arsene Wenger does not give English players enough of a chance, will today be moaning about Bellerin’s injury, and that we should not have to be relying on Carl Jenkinson.

With no game for Arsenal for 10 days, it will give Wenger and the fitness team time to get Jenkinson up to speed so he is ready for Manchester United.

Mathieu Debuchy

The alternative to Carl Jenkinson will be experienced French international Mathieu Debuchy.

He signed 2 years ago as Bacary Sagna’s replacement and, having replaced the ex-Arsenal player in the French national team, looked a good player. He then got hit by a terrible run of luck, and the break through of Hector Bellerin, which saw him marginalised at the club to the point where is was only injury that stopped him leaving this summer.

Fitness will be a worry for Debuchy. He has not played this season, appeared just 9 times for Bordeaux last season, and has appeared a total of 31 times in the last 2 and a bit seasons.

Now 31, how sharp will he be having missed so much 1st team football? Will he be able to come back and put in the solid performances he did for Newcastle in 2013? And more importantly, how is his attitude towards playing for Arsenal having spent a good part of the year trying to engineer a move away from the club?

arsenal-1st-team-squad-20162017

He was included in the Arsenal 1st team squad photo, so he has certainly not been put down yet, but it would be a big risk to play a player who has been so unhappy, so injured, in recent years.

Shkodran Mustafi

One of our stand out players this has been German international Shkodran Mustafi. The partnership alongside Laurent Koscielny is a key reason we are in the title race. Not only has Mustafi showed strength in defence, but he has also proved to be an asset bringing the ball out of defence.

Numerous times this season, when chasing the game, he has acted as an auxiliary right back, driving into the space left by Hector Bellerin allowing the Spaniard to push further up the pitch. With John Stones going for nearly £50m as a ball playing centre back, Mustafi looks like a steal.

When we signed him, there were reports that he could play right back, and had done so for Germany in their successful 2014 World Cup campaign. The truth is a little different.

He did play 3 times at right back for Germany in the 2014 World Cup. All from the bench, playing a grand total of 132 minutes.

Throughout his career, he has barely played at right back at all. Just 18 times in fact. And not since 2012/13 for Sampdoria has he done it on an even semi-regular basis.

 

Moving Mustafi out wide, to be replaced with either Rob Holding or Gabriel in the middle would be a big risk. It would basically be weakening two areas of the park. It would be a big risk.

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Another option for Arsenal could be to play Rob Holding at right back, and then Mustafi in the middle, but this would not be as strong as Jenkinson.

In my opinion, the best option will be Jenkinson right back, and leave the rest of the defence the same.

That way, you have a natural right back playing at right back, and inside him you have a strong centre back who is capable of pushing a bit further out to the right to protect his less experienced (but older) full back.

It would also not surprise me if, whilst Bellerin is out, we see Aaron Ramsey play on the right wing, just to give us a bit of extra defensive strength.

This could be Carl Jenkinson’s chance to shine.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

 

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Keenos