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The positives and negatives of Santi Cazorla staying at Arsenal
Santi Cazorla is a magician. With the ball at his feet there are few things the diminutive Spaniard can’t do. Blessed with unworldly tekkers on either foot, he proved to be the heartbeat of the Arsenal midfield in the second half of the 2014-2015 season.
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Dictating play with his vision and brilliant passing ability, Santi Cazorla continued to rack up the assists, putting him top of the assists chart since he came to the Prem in August 2012, with 27, three more than the closest competitor Eden Hazard.
After his dazzling display against Villa in the F.A Cup final, there has been talk of Santi Cazorla leaving the Gunners, however he was quick to dismiss such talk, “Rumors about Atletico Madrid are false. Currently, I just focus on Arsenal. I have two more years on my contract here and I hope to complete them,” the midfielder told Goal.com.
While the majority of Arsenal supporters are rejoicing at this news and understandably so, it begs a very important question: What does next season hold for Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere?
With Cazorla on board for next year and clearly in fantastic form and Francis Coquelin deservedly cementing a place in the center of the park, how are Rambo and super Jack, supposed to get a long run in at their preferred position. This is coupled with endless rumors of bringing in another defensive minded midfielder if Coquelin were to go down with a serious injury.
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Santi Cazorla is now 30 years of age, while Wilshere and Ramsey are 23 and 24 respectively; having Cazorla there is obviously a must due to his game-changing performances last season. Yet, his stay will most likely keep both of Arsenal’s midfield starlets on the wings or on the bench in the big games next year.
Ramsey has made it clear he wants to play in the middle of the park, being quoted by the Mirror saying, “I’m not hiding away from it, I want to be playing in the middle. I’ve had chats with the manager about it. Santi Cazorla is the one in my position. He’s the one who plays alongside Francis Coquelin and tries to get forward. I am trying to get that back.” Ramsey Via the Mirror.
An argument can easily be made that keeping Santi Cazorla will provide even more motivation for Ramsey and Wilshere to win the attacking-minded central midfield role next to the Coq, and sadly it must be mentioned that both are injury prone so who knows if they’ll even be able to consistently fight for said spot. In the end however, when all four central midfielders are fit, Wenger will have a very tough selection to make, as shunning Wilshere and Ramsey to the wings has worked against the lesser sides but proves to crowd the middle of the pitch too much against the bigger sides.
Next: Are Arsenal blundering with Lukas Podolski?