Arsenal: Santi Cazorla doesn’t make Mikel Arteta any more attractive

Arsenal’s next manager is looking more and more like Mikel Arteta, which is underwhelming at best. Adding Santi Cazorla doesn’t change that.

Arsenal’s search for a manager keeps coming back to Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard, who has been the assistant coach for Pep Guardiola for two years now, is not a heavy favorite by fans. While I certainly don’t think he is the worst idea, he is far from the best.

The point of letting Arsene Wenger go was to challenge the players, to get out of them what Wenger could not, and Mikel Arteta does not do that. He is simply a continuation of the same things, as he captained a similarly underwhelming Arsenal side.

Adding Santi Cazorla as a prospective assistant coach doesn’t change that because, guess what? Cazorla was a part of the exact same system with the exact same man in charge. These are two Wenger-ites that will continue the way Wenger would have. Yes, they know the players, but any manager at this level would know the players. That’s a moot point.

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Knowing the players isn’t a necessity. If anything, I’d prefer a manager who has an initial distance from the players because guess what? That makes the pampered players of this team a bit uncomfortable. Young players like Alex Iwobi and Hector Bellerin have both been playing noticeably better since the Wenger announcement.

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That’s not a coincidence. They know that if they want to make it at this club beyond Wenger’s protection, they have to play better. Bring in Arteta and Cazorla, the huggable duo, and you lose that edge.

What we have here, if this is the case, is a decision that is based on a team’s fear to challenge the status quo. All they are looking to do by adding Cazorla is make it a little bit more fan friendly, as Cazorla’s general demeanor has always been loved and respected by the fans, whereas Arteta, as a player, was not.

But as far as making this deal any sweeter, they are sorely lacking. What do they want Arsenal to be known for? Ruthlessness and winning or playing beautifully and staying the same? Because it’s looking more like the latter if this duo takes over the club.

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It’s incredibly disappointing and, given the lack of emotion this club has shown lately, with the selling of Giroud and Walcott and the not caving to Jack Wilshere, it is actually unexpected. Which is why I’m still hopeful that it’s just idle chatter and nothing else.