Arsenal: Santi Cazorla Presence As Sure As Mesut Ozil

Arsenal has been sorely lacking Santi Cazorla as of late, but it looks like he may be in line to return against United. Which eliminates some questions.

There are some Arsenal men that you just don’t sit. Every single match day, there is not a shred of doubt surrounding their names.

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However, there are some starters who are more set in stone than others. While I consider Mustafi and Walcott absolute starters, there are still some questions about those that are providing them competition.

Then there are guys like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez who start all the time, no matter what. There is no resting them and there is certainly no sitting them.

Santi Cazorla has wandered into that latter group by being hurt. The Spanish magician is as must-start as Mesut Ozil because of the unique skills he brings to a position that seems completely unlike what he would want.

Cazorla was given the holding midfield role as a massive experiment when Aaron Ramsey vacated it with an injury and what followed could hardly be anticipated, though it would be unfair to call it a shock.

The Spaniard showed that, despite his small stature and not exactly blistering pace, he was an integral part of both sides of the ball. His ability to tackle was both sneaky and surprising, as it could be assumed that opposing attackers didn’t consider him a threat.

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But it was going forward that we got a true taste of what he could do. As sure on the ball as anyone out there, Cazorla seamlessly moved the ball from the back to the front. It’s much easier said than done. Seeing him work was magical, but it was a very under-the-radar job.

That is, until Arsenal had to cope without him. Turns out transitioning from defense to attack isn’t so easy after all.

Mesut Ozil is as solidified as they come. However, you could pose the argument that Cazorla is even more important because Ozil is an offensive player first and foremost. He plays in the enemies half of the pitch.

He may be the catalyst behind just about every goal, but in order to get into that position in the first place, where he can be a catalyst, he needs someone to get him the ball in a quick and composed fashion.

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Call it an assembly line, and missing Cazorla is like having a big, gaping hole in that assembly line.