Arsenal: The best 'new Santi Cazorla's' have already passed by

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour wants Arsene Wenger to land a new Santi Cazorla this summer, but two of the best candidates have already passed by.

Since landing Sead Kolasinac, Arsenal only really have one big need – a striker. While the absence of Santi Cazorla was a royal pain in the arse last season, it was overcome (far too late, I might add) by the formation change that saw Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey take the reigns in the center of the pitch

This new shift conclusively proved that Cazorla could try to fit in the starting XI if he wanted, but nothing was guaranteed. And that alleviated a huge problem.

Still, Ray Parlour believes that the Gunners should (or rather, will) try to sign a new version of Santi Cazorla this summer in an effort to replicate what he brought to the club.

It’s hard to argue with that, given how wonderful Cazorla can be. With his low center of gravity and his craftiness, Cazorla was the pivot that began nearly every offensive move. And while the 3-4-2-1 isn’t exactly dying without Cazorla, having that option would be a solid safety net.

Unfortunately, two of the better options have already passed the Gunners by. Both Corentin Tolisso and Jean Michael Seri are deep-lying midfielders who work like a pivot, taking the ball, pushing forward, and hovering around the edge of the box.

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Both players have already either completed moves, or are on the brink of completing moves, with Tolisso going to Bayern Munich and Seri inching closer to landing at Roma. Which effectively removes two ‘new Santi Cazorla’s’ from the conversation.

You won’t find many players out there that do what Cazorla does. Especially not at the level that he does it. Tolisso and Seri were not exact replicas either, but they were pretty damn close.

The next most obvious candidate would be Cazorla’s old Malaga team mate and my forever-target, Isco. The Spaniard could be a brilliant successor to his countryman, but it looks like Arsene Wenger simply isn’t interested.

Beyond that, covert names like Vincent Koziello may enter the conversation, but the unfortunate truth is just that there aren’t many others out there who are both available and capable of doing the job.

Thankfully, it isn’t as pressing as it once was. As mentioned, Aaron Ramsey has become a champ at his new role, embodying what he has been able to do for Wales.

Next: Arsenal's 30 Best Transfers Of Past 30 Years

Building on that should almost take a priority over reverting to reliance on a Cazorla type.

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Arsenal: The best ‘new Santi Cazorla’s’ have already passed by

By Josh Sippie | Jun 21, 2017

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour wants Arsene Wenger to land a new Santi Cazorla this summer, but two of the best candidates have already passed by.

More from Pain in the Arsenal