Arsenal: Santi Cazorla hell demands investment

Santi Cazorla may not play for Arsenal again after suffering further complications with an Achilles injury. The hell that he is enduring demands investment in a replacement.

Arsenal and injuries go together like Spurs and ‘pushing them close’ awards. Unfortunately for the Gunners, they seem to harbour bad luck when it comes to injuries. The reason, or reasons, is difficult to decipher. Perhaps it is their greater share of possession in most games, perhaps it is Arsene Wenger’s notoriously tough training sessions, perhaps it is the type of players that make up the squad, players that are slighter in stature and more susceptible to injuries.

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Whatever the reason is for their injury struggles, Arsenal are continually dealing with them, shuffling their squad as a result of them and forced into the transfer market to replace those who suffer from the longer periods of absence.

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The latest to be crippled with an ailing issue that cannot be overcome is Santi Cazorla. The Spanish midfielder suffered an Achilles’ injury during a comfortable win over Ludogorets in October of last season. It was initially thought that he would miss the next three weeks of action. However, as more information was revealed, and complications began to surface during the rehabilitation process, it was clear that Cazorla would not feature again for the Gunners before the summer.

When the summer came, Cazorla admitted that he had undergone yet another surgery, his eighth in total, and that he would not play before October. That was a significant blow for Arsenal, who had hoped that Cazorla would return to their midfield to provide an element of rhythm and tempo to their passing that had been missing in his absence. But now, the news has only got worse.

Per an exclusive report in the Express, Cazorla could miss the whole of the upcoming year, meaning that he is at risk of not playing again for Arsenal. That would be extremely disappointing, both for Cazorla and the club, and a substantial contingency plan would have to be made if that is the case.

Cazorla’s two-footedness, his ability to receive the ball and release it, looking forward as much as possible, has been difficult to replicate in his absence. Arsenal have been exposed by teams that have been willing to press them high up the pitch and their passing has lacked intention and incisiveness.

If Cazorla is scheduled to miss the whole year, then a suitable replacement will need to be found. A midfielder with the distributive skills, the touch, the vision and the intelligence to receive the ball under pressure, turn away from that pressure and play the intermediary passes of Arsenal’s attacking moves, will need to be found.

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Cazorla’s absence is a painful and significant one. It is one that requires significant addressing. Unfortunately, there is no obvious internal successor. That means that Wenger will have dip his toe into the transfer waters, however hesitant he may be to do so.