Arsenal: Jack Wilshere the only Santi Cazorla lite left

Santi Cazorla is set to leave Arsenal this summer. The only player in the whole squad who can come close to replicating his influence is Jack Wilshere, whose contract also runs out this summer. The Gunners need to be careful.

All season, Arsenal had trouble against teams who employed a high-pressing strategy. They couldn’t move the ball quick enough through the phases in midfield to evade it and loose passes or individual errors would often lead to them losing possession and being immediately pushed onto the back foot.

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No one person was to blame for this inability. It is a collective problem. Likewise, no one person can solve it. That said, it was noticeable that this difficulty coincided with the extended absence of Santi Cazorla.

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The Spaniard had a wonderful ability to receive the ball under pressure, turn away from it, and then release a pass into a more advanced area, circumnavigating the opposition’s press. His low centre-of-gravity, his remarkable first touch, and his highly-aware vision that allowed him to know precisely what he was going to do with the ball before he did it were all staples of his game, and they all comprised a player who was astonishingly comfortable with the ball when under pressure.

But Cazorla is now seemingly set to leave north London with his contract unlikely to be renewed after nearly two years on the sidelines with a horrific ankle injury. It is a fair decision, not wanting to take a risk on a 33-year-old with a wretched injury history. But it also leaves a fairly sizable hole at the heart of the midfield: Arsenal no longer have a pressure-evading, close-controlling, space-sliding midfielder.

And it gets worse. Not only do they not have that player, but the player who is closest to Cazorla in terms of style and substance is Jack Wilshere, though there is still quite a gap between the two. And Wilshere’s future is hardly certain with his contract expiring this summer, even with talk of a new three-year deal on the table.

Wilshere has the same agile wiggle that Cazorla does, slipping his way past defenders and spinning into space to instigate attacks. But he does not do so with the same consistency as Cazorla and he frequently tries too much, often losing the ball when trying to swerve around the third or fourth defender, when, really, he should have played a pass after the first or second.

Nevertheless, Granit Xhaka is not mobile enough. Mohamed Elneny lacks the awareness and distribution required. Aaron Ramsey does not possess the same close control as a Wilshere or Cazorla. Other than Wilshere, there is no other player that is even remotely similar to the pressure-evading influence of Cazorla.

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Arsenal, then, must be careful. Losing Cazorla is damaging enough, even if it was expected. But losing Wilshere as well, the only player who is close to being the Cazorla-lite left in the squad, would be disastrous. This midfield is being decimated. There are already enough holes elsewhere without creating another one.