Arsenal: Santi Cazorla departure shows stark concern

Santi Cazorla is set to leave Arsenal this summer. His departure, which is terribly sad, lays bare a stark concern at the heart of the midfield: a deep-lying, pressure-evading, tight-dribbling distributor.

Santi Cazorla is a wonderful footballer. The diminutive Spaniard was signed in 2011. Since then, he has played in a myriad of midfield positions for Arsenal, from out wide to a central attacking-midfield role to a deep-lying playmaking position that was perhaps his most influential in his later years.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

His ability on the ball is unrivalled in the squad. The caressing of the ball, the short and sharp dribbling, the eyes-up vision to survey the field and then release it quickly. He is a rarely brilliant footballer scuppered by horrific and frequent injuries.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

But his time in north London is set to come to an end. Cazorla, after being out of action for almost two years, will not see his playing contract renewed at the end of the year, and is now expected to sign with former club Villareal. It is a sad development, but, in all reality, it is not an especially surprising decision given the risk it would be to pay a player with such a dastardly injury history.

His departure, however, does confirm the warning signs of the past 18 months of a severely lacking distributing individual at the heart of the midfield. With Cazorla absent, Arsenal have had to rely on Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere to set the tempo of their play in possession and instigate attacks with those line-breaking passes from deep. Those players have the ability to conduct elements of that role, but none are as effective as Cazorla.

It was always hoped, though, that it would only need to be a patch. Cazorla, it was assumed, would return to action. Wilshere or Ramsey or Xhaka or even Mohamed Elneny at times would only need to be able to replicate the Cazorla influence for a period.

But as it has become increasingly clear that Cazorla would not be returning, or at least not returning as a reliable contributor, then the search for a longer-term solution has grown in importance. Now that his absence is seemingly confirmed for the remainder of his career, however, the need for a true solution has arisen.

That solution does not really exist in the current squad. There are players who can do the job, but they are not at the same level as Cazorla. Not even close. The solution, then, must come in the transfer window. Jean Michael Seri, for instance, would be the type of player that could fill the hole that Cazorla will leave behind.

Next: Arsenal: 30 greatest players in history

It will be desperately sad to see Cazorla no longer at the Emirates. He has been one of my personal favourite players and I have loved watching him play. But the time to move on has come. Arsenal need to fill the hole he vacates.