Arsenal: Barcelona competition bad for Santi Cazorla successor

Arsenal are facing competition for the signing of Jean-Michael Seri. That is bad news given he is the perfect successor for Santi Cazorla.

Santi Cazorla is a wonderful player.

His ability to distribute from either flank, receiving the ball in tight space, spinning on a dime, before whipping his leg through the ball, striking it with great timing, fizzing a piercing pass into the feet of a precisely positioned attacker, who is expecting nothing less of the diminutive midfielder, is invaluable. He sets the tempo for Arsenal’s passing, turning defence into attack when the opportune moment arises, orchestrating sweeping moves from deep, pulling and dragging the opposition into and out of position, engineering angles and space that he then prizes open with great elegance and guile. He slaloms his way through the tightest of midfields, protecting the ball, preserving possession and relieving pressure.

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His absence has been hard felt with no one in the Arsenal squad capable of replicating Cazorla’s 360 distribution and thanks to continued injuries and a worryingly increasing age, the time to find a replacement has come.

Unfortunately, a player of Cazorla’s skill and influence is difficult to find. The supply is short and the demand is high and Arsenal will face intense competition for any potential successor. The one name that has been mentioned most frequently with a North London switch is Nice’s Jean-Michael Seri. But securing his services may be far more difficult than first envisaged.

Recent reports claim that Barcelona have highlighted Seri as their eventual replacement for Andres Iniesta. If offered the two clubs, it is difficult to see how Seri will choose the Gunners. Why would you?

And that is a huge problem because Seri would be the perfect solution to the Cazorla conundrum. In his past two full Ligue 1 seasons for Nice, Seri, playing in a marauding, box-to-box central role, completed 88.9% and 89.5% of his passes. That is exceptional. And they are not just safe passes either. Last year, he amassed nine assists, completing 2.2 key passes per game and 4.7 long balls per game.

And this year, he has only progressed further. After three full appearances, Seri has completed 90.1% of his passes, recorded one assist and made an incredible 4.3 key passes per game. In addition, he is currently averaging north of 100 passes per game, proving his controlling, orchestrating demeanour at the heart of the Nice midfield.

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Seri is the ideal player to replace Cazorla. He is one of only a few in Europe that boasts the passing ability – the vision, the creativity, the intelligence and the technical skill and execution – to do so. But if Barcelona enter the fray, attempting to sign him will be a whole lot harder.

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