Arsenal: Santi Cazorla Season-Long Absence Raises Major Questions

Santi Cazorla is set to miss the rest of the season. His continued absence raises major questions about Arsenal’s present and the Spaniard’s future.

Arsenal and injuries are synonymous with one another. Throughout Arsene Wenger’s tenure, the squad has often been assembled with slighter, physically weaker players that, when crashing together in 50:50, tough-tackling midfield challenges, often come off the worse.

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It is an issue that has plagued many seasons and many young careers. The likes of Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere have not seen their development progress as expected thanks to an onslaught of frequent injuries, keeping them on the sidelines for extended periods of time.

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Last year is an example of a campaign scuppered by injuries. Alexis Sanchez struggled to find full fitness throughout the year, Per Mertesacker was in and out of the side with Gabriel Paulista deputising for him at times, while Santi Cazorla missed almost all of the latter half of the year after suffering a knee ligament injury in early December, dramatically hindering the fluency and rhythm to Arsenal’s passing throughout his lengthy absence.

Arsenal have also seen this current season damaged by injuries. Hector Bellerin has been in and out of the first team with a mire of issues, Aaron Ramsey has rarely been match-fit and is once again on the sidelines with yet another hamstring issue, and now The Mirror reveals that Cazorla, someone who has been absent since October already, could be set to miss the rest of the season as his recovery stalls.

That is undoubtedly bad news for the Gunners who have sorely missed the calming influence that the diminutive Spaniard brings to the midfield. As of the 1st December 2016, over the period back to the start of the 2014/15 season, Arsenal had won 65.5% of their games in which Cazorla had started. Without Cazorla, their win percentage dropped significantly to just 38.9%.

Looking forward, his sustained injury issues – this is now the second consecutive season in which Cazorla has missed more than half of the year – shroud his future in doubt. Can the Gunners rely on their midfield maestro to be fit for much of the season or, with his age now 32, should they look for a replacement in this summer’s transfer window?

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Cazorla is still an instrumental figure in the Arsenal first team. His vision, his creativity, his distribution are key components to the passing-orientated midfield of Wenger’s system. Replacing him may seem a little ruthless, but there are now major questions to be asked, both in the club’s present and regarding the player’s future.