The little Spaniard Santi Cazorla turned 30 last week, but is still as sprightly as he was 10 years ago if not even fitter. He has had an award winning December and it has also been revealed that he played 50 games for Arsenal in 2014, more than any of his younger (and more injury-prone) team-mates.
But he fact remains that Mesut Ozil is returning to fitness and will be competing for Cazorla’s place in the cental role behind the striker, but the Spaniard has revealed that he is happy to move back to the left wing if necessary.
“I love playing centrally,” Cazorla stated. “it means I have a bit more freedom. I’m more able to help my team-mates. At the end of the day, I’m happy to help my team-mates and manager wherever – I’m happy whether I play centrally or on the wing.
Cazorla has also upped his scoring from his freer role, and he is glad that he is also helping the team in that ay.”I really wanted to score again,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of chances this year but for one reason or another – either bad luck or because I’ve missed by inches – I’ve not scored many. I want to help the team by scoring more goals so hopefully the penalty against Stoke and the two against Newcastle can help me to do that.”
Now he has turned 30 he was asked if he was feeling his age now, but he doesn’t think it has made any difference yet. “I feel good and don’t need to change anything,” Santi continued. “Of course, as the years go by the body changes, but right now there’s no specific problem that’s going to force me to change the way I work on a day-to-day basis. I’m going to carry on as I am until something means I can’t do that anymore.”
If anything Cazorla has improved with age, and hopefully we will see him carry on winning games for Arsenal right through to the end of the season….
Leave the maturing fine spanish wine where he is.German Beer on bench.
y’all should stop hating on OziL…… He’s been out for a while, carzola’s been in fine form but he is no machine and may wear off due to fatique ……that’s why oziL is essential……we can only hope and pray he ups his game and be a lil more brutal….. Then there’s a thing about rotation…..if ozil comes good, won’t it be wise to give carzola a breather(i don’t mean dumping him on the bench) and rotate? ……we gotta think twice bout this!
ozil needs to be defensively brutal and put up a lil fight sometimes….. This, i feel is why fans want him benched
The problem is, that’s unlikely to happen. Footballers rarely change that drastically.
I love santi
Why would a mozart of the attack have to be defensive minded to get to play? I agree that Cazorla should still play in the middle, but is it not possible for Wenger to play both in his “new” 4-1-4-1 formation?
Neither Özil nor Cazorla should play on the wing imo. The wings are for fast motors like Ox, Walcott, Campbell and of course Sanchez.
The problem for Ozil and Ozil lovers is that Sanchez can play No 10 and just be as effective in an attacking sense.
Walcott doesn’t defend either.
Until recently know one was.
ozil needs to be defensively brutal and put up a lil fight sometimes….. This, i feel is why fans want him benched…
Cazorla is indirectly saying that the central position belongs to only someone who would do better than himself.
That person is Ozil.
No his not. He is saying he is a paid professional who will work his socks off no matter where he is played, giving the same effort regardless. It’s also a little lie I’m sure as everyone has a preferred role but because his a pro (and he wants to stay in the team and look like a team player) that he says so.
I’m sure Santi has no inferiority complex in regard to Mesut whatsoever.
Santi’s psychological profile –> ends
I like Ozil. But I think it only fair he proves his worth from the bench. Santi has more than earned his right for a starting position. Let Mesut show us what his got from the bench and if he sets the world alight and Santi stops doing so then swap it around.
Basic rotation stuff..
Whilst many are happy to make this a Santi v Ozil argument, I say play them both. A few points to ponder:
1) SC has 400+ senior appearances for Villareal, Malaga, Spain and Arsenal. He has played in a wide position for nearly the entirety of his career – this isn’t someone being forced in to an unfamiliar role.
2) His best spell for us was in 2012-13 – playing wide.
3) He is probably one of the world’s most adaptable and versatile attacking midfielder – he can perform for us anywhere in the front 3.
4) Santi may be our stand out player at the moment (along with Alexis) playing in a central role – but let’s not kid ourselves – he is a stand out player in a poorly performing team. Anyone happy with the performances? Is creativity rampant? Moving an in form player, in a key position in a winning team is stupid – but not quite what we are facing here.
5) While our blow-outs are well publicised and have been critiqued to death we did player better football last season for about 30 games in the season than we have this season. We have gone backwards and MO’s absence is part of the reason IMO.
6) And it is oh so easy to overlook, with all the Mesut slagging festering around this site, but whether he has been bang average for us in his first season and a bit, hasn’t sweated enough for some, or looks too casual – by nearly average available measure he has consistently been our most creative player. Scary eh, a scarcely trying, timid and brittle guy playing at 50% or 60% is still more creative than the rest. Our win ratio is also better with MO than without.
7) Lastly – did anyone know there is such a thing as a “false No.11”? I didn’t but found this brief piece which I have pasted below that some of you may find interesting –
“Cazorla is at his best as a false winger, a position also known as a central winger or a false 11. Here’s an explanation from Michael Cox at Zonal Marking:
A clear contradiction in terms [central winger], but it’s not as ludicrous as it might seem. The result is that these players interpret the playmaker position differently. Rather than staying central and trying to find space in between the lines, they drift to the flanks and pick the ball up there.
The role has emerged more by chance than by design and therefore it’s difficult to draw too many conclusions about the intention of coaches using such players. Then again, the same could be said of Francesco Totti pioneering the “false nine” at Roma, and that role has dominated tactical debate for the last couple of years.
I.J. Yarison at Bleacher Report offered his take on the position:
The False 11 position is often occupied by a second playmaker who starts wide but drifts inside to add another body to the midfield. This often causes a scissor movement with the main striker.
So, then, the False 11 is a disguised midfield role, whereas the 11 proper is a flank player who drifts wide to try to get behind the opposition’s defense. The idea of the False 11 isn’t to get behind the defense per se, but to cause disorganization in the defense via confusing (to the opponent, that is) movement”.
Something for you armchair coaches and tacticians to chew over.
you gotta be happy bro….. Playing either centrally or on the wings (tho i have to admit you are more centrally suited) but incase you don’t know what bench time means….ask poldi
This article is baseless I don’t think Cazorla’s age should be a factor clearly it’s not affecting his performances, Frank Lampard is about 34 and he is still one of the best players in the EPL. Ozil for me is really overrated and hasn’t done crap since he came to arsenal so he needs to fight for his place. If you watch all the World Cup matches for Germany Ozil Played on the wings and he was happy there and if he goes to Byern he won’t be a regular starter with those performances. Look at Hazard, Oscar, Willian put them anywhere on the pitch and they will play there heart out , football is a team sport Ozil is getting way too much attention with is mediocre performances.
Cazorla should stay in the team until there’s a reason for him to be dropped, or if he’s rested. Cazorla is playing fantastically well at the moment, why remove him just because Özil is fit? What would that do to his confidence? Özil shouldn’t be given his place back, he needs to earn it back.
firstly i am not an ozil hater , in fact i do not hate anybody or anything on this planet of ours !. but certainally i do not think ozil is worth anywhere near the money that the clown paid for him in a state of panic .and yet there are numerous people on here who still call him the best number ten in the world !. when he was at madrid he was certainally up there with the best , but we calling him the best , it is utter nonsense .he still has not proven himself in the premier league , despite his injury he just seemed to plod along for most of our games . madrid knew what they were doing getting rid of this man right now .his dad is suing him , so surely there must be something in his own mind that is not right .madrid knew his dad was about to sue and we fell for the sale hook line and sinker , please take a bow wenger , you have purchased the costliest mistake ever . you should be made refund the money which you paid for him to the club out of your own fat wallet , you are a total doisgrace.
Shut up!!!
Cazorla has deserved to keep his place, so the onus is on Ozil to go out and win it back with performances when he gets his chance. At the moment Cazorla starts in the middle for me.
I find it funny that there is still an ongoing debate about Ozil’s performances at Arsenal.
For all people who get hurt by Ozil criticism, let him do the talking on the pitch. Courtesy wenger, he will have his chances. It’s now upto him to prove his worth and light up the premier league or else be treated like any other player in the team !
My personal opinion is that Both Ozil and Cazorla are defensive liabilities (Ozil more so than Cazorla) and given our brittle defense, we cannot afford to have too many passengers. For me it is either Ozil or Cazorla and in current form, Cazorla wins it.
Were it not because of Aaron Ramsey, I would have loved Cazorla to play in central midfield. He’s an absolutely delight in central midfield (Pirlo role), and he has a very good positional discipline unlike some of our other players. Sanchez might have got the goals, but it was Cazorla who set us ticking in the past month or so.
_______Ozil
Schneirdelin Cazorla
i play like this on fifa everytime lol
Really? With Schneirdelin? 😀
How does it go? 🙂
i am doing shet bec of merti being slow as fakk. No schneiderlin*
Anyone who thinks Ozil should just be played in place of Cazorla should be shot. Cazorla along with Sanchez as been arsenal’s rock thus far, if we had defensive cover and never made so much mistakes in the back we would have been in the top 3. If Gnarby played as much as Ozil did last season he would have been a better player than Ozil. This blog is just rediculious you guys keep burring your head in the sand and relying on past experiences from both players and couch you all need to wake up and call a spade a spade stop talking about wenger invincibles and Ozil time at Real Madrid it’s stupid please judge each based on current performances
are you saying that ozil is underperforming whenever he plays in his natural poz?
He may not be saying that, but its the truth. Ozil has been below par for us since Jan of last season. People use the out of position excuse all the time, but he’s still not as good as he could be in CAM. Even during the end of last season where he was our CAM he was under performing.
so was Ramsey, Santi and many more. Just quit this biased bs
@KS gunner: what’s with this infighting? when you are the costliest player in the club’s history, expectations are natural ; so plz stop comparing him to Cazorla, Ramsey..they did not eat up so much of our money. And mind you ozil was bought to take the team to the next level and he simply hasn’t. When you spend more than 30 millions on a player you expect the world from them. Look at Sanchez- thats why you spend big money on them. Look at Fabregas..look at Matic, Hazard etc. I don’t think people will be criticising Ozil too much if he had come for 20 million. What is most unacceptable is the desire to fight. Let’s be honest- there was a reason Real Madrid let him go- he wants to be protected, and does not have the stomach for a fight.
I feel so impatient in waiting for a defender…
Don’t worry our youth will take care of the defence. Says wenger
The player i belive wenger will drop to the bench if ozil fully becomes fit is Welbeck
Cazorla and ozil in the middle.
True wingers on the wings.
Strikers in the forward positions
I do not care about what fan boys say,Wilshere and Ramsey on the bench until they are needed or sold.
Very little creativity and assist coming from the two that a DM (ALEX SONG in his final arsenal) outshone them at doing their job.
Alex song last season at arsenal, i belive ramsey was still scared cause of that injury he suffered.
Completely agree and have stated so below before I saw your post.
While I am a massive Ozil fan, I am an Arsenal fan first. Santi has earned the number 10 role with his quality of play. Sanchez has also said that he actually prefers playing on the left so that he can cut inside. Play Sanchez on the left, Santi in the middle, Walcott or Ox on the right, and bring Ozil off the bench in the 70th whenever we need creativity and chances or whenever Santi needs a rest. Players, no matter how big the name, earn playing time with performance and not potential.
I would prefer either theo or the ox on the wing! Santi should stay in his normal position, coming through the middle! Thats just my suggestion! Coyg!
Said this before will say it again: these articles are stupid and bias. We have no problem inserting underporming wilshire and Ramsey back into the team, and playing them next to each other to boot. Look where that got us?
Mesut and santi don’t need to split, they should be playing together, next to each other with Alexis and theo wide, and a proper DM behind them protecting the back 4.
Problem is we’ve adapted this “someone must sit” mentality because Arsene never adjusts or rotates depending on the game. Sometimes Mesut and santi should play centrally next to each other, and sometimes it should only be one of them with either Aaron or Jack. This season has shown it should not ever be Jack and Aaron together though, especially at the expense of a natural winger (pushing santi or Mesut wide).
There’s that, and people refuse to acknowledge how poor Ramsey and wilshire have been in their preferred positions, but have no problem screaming from the rafters how poorly Mesut is out wide while not mentioning that he’s NOT A WINGER.
Who said Ozil will play central long term? People seem to have forgotten that Wack Wilshere kept both Ozil and Cazorla out of the middle.
Be happy Wack Wilshere is injured for now. When he is back Wenger is going to say ‘Ozil who?’, ‘Ozil is really good on the wing’, ‘I honestly have never heard of a player called Cazorla’
true gunner , telling me to shut up is big talk indeed . why dont you listen to your own advice for once . i am entitled to give my opinion on here , just as you are too old chap . now , you have me shaking in me boots over wondering what you are going to do to get me to shut up , i am afraid , very afraid kid.
Yes, you are, but dont you think that you overreacting a bit? Manchester united have a player in Mata who cost them the same ammount of money, and they bench him whenever they want without fans and managers making a big fuss about it. And here you are, a fella with some stupid inferiour complex who do moan about numbers and favorisem. So what of his 42m price tag? So what him being an inferiour winger to Santi. The players are all team mates and rotation is the key. Dont make every stupid thing into a personal competition game amogst the players. This same bs is also happening with Wilsher and Ramsey. Yea Ramsey scored a goal, fakk Welcheair, he is shett, and so on.
People are babbling something about he earned his right. Ozil did the same, whenever he played on his natural poz he played nice.
As for Santi. Ozil is the better 10, but Santi all around talent makes him more usefull to us, that for Santi can and should play on the wings at times and of course rotate with Ozil, Ramsey and the others.
Neither Ozil Nor Cazorla should play on the wing. It’s ridiculous. We have Walcott, Sanchez, Ox, Campbell (if he stays) to play on wings.
Exactly! Pace on the wings always.
Something Ozil or Caz do not have in abundance. Now Per..
Whenever Ozil played in the center which was just a handful of times this season, he played really well.ie. Galatasaray and Aston Villa
I’ll be very upset if Cazorla gets shifted out wide for Ozil. But as others have said, the selections are going to get even worse when Wenger’s golden boy Wilshere returns.
I hope and pray a slightly more robust and physical Ozil returns, he’s had plenty of time in the gym!
Apart from defensively can we really say we’ve missed Ozil, Wilshire and Ramsey?
OT be nice to have at least one transfer to talk about come on the windows been open 3 days 🙂
Wenger waiting to see what’s left on the shelf and marked down before closing time?
In fairness I think Wenger will do a simmilar thing as he did with Walcott. I think Ozil will come from the bench and replace Cazorla in games. I hope to god we dont stick Cazorla or Ozil on the wing, it’s not their game.
Sanchez, Welbeck, Walcott, Gnabry, (when fit), Campbell, (if he stays and get’s match times and fitness) are all better suited to wing play but who fookin knows with Wenger, Mert as a wing back in a 3-5-2? LMFAO!
We could play them together like this
______________Giroud_______________
Sanchez_____________________Walcott
_______Cazorla___________Ozil_____
_____________Coquelin__________
But then Cazorla and Ozil will need to do they share of defensive work.
This would be a killer line-up. Not sure Coquelin can handle that role on his own, happy he’s back tho with arteta’s injury’s and flamini’s cards. Think Khedira could perfectly fill this role. Why Wenger didn’t bring Jenkinson back and played Chambers as DM is a mystery to me.
Good luck getting Cazorla and Ozil to track back. We’d be murdered on the counter.
Come on.. we all know that Wenger will do the complete opposite of what we want.. Just have to hope that one day all the jigsaw pieces come together.
..What else can we do?
I miss us winning the battles on the pitch rather than fancy, inefficient over playing of football with too much focus on being nice pros.. ive even started admiring other teams like Chelsea for there tough and robust approach.. reminds me of how scary we were with Adams and co!
I still hope Wenger has a plan to succeed before he goes..