What Arsenal could do with right now is a player of Santi Cazorla’s ability. The Gunners have toiled over the previous few months, struggling to make up the ground on runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, while they were defeated on penalties by Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup.
In a season where Manchester City have seen a massive drop-off in performance, winning only 10 of their first 21 Premier League matches, Mikel Arteta should have taken inspiration from this.
Unfortunately, it looks as though they could finish the season trophyless once again. Injury issues have played their part, but the north Londoners haven’t looked like the fluent side that ran City so close over the previous two seasons.
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The German has scored 12 goals, but it is clear he needs more support. Imagine a peak Cazorla linking up with the former Chelsea star in the current Arsenal side.
The Spaniard became a cult icon at the Gunners during his five-season spell with the club, scoring 29 goals and registering 44 assists. His positional flexibility allowed him to star in several positions for Arsenal, including as a number ten, out wide, and in a deeper role under Arsène Wenger during his latter seasons.
Season
Games
Goals
Assists
2016/17
11
2
3
2015/16
21
0
5
2014/15
53
8
15
2013/14
46
7
9
2012/13
49
12
13
Via Transfermarkt
If Arteta could call upon someone with his ability right now, some of his problems might disappear.
As such, we have taken an in-depth look at players who are playing right now whose playing style is comparable to Cazorla’s.
A couple of hidden gems, a youngster making his mark in the Premier League and someone who has won the Champions League and six league titles all feature…
1 Bernardo Silva Manchester City
The first player who certainly fits the style of Cazorla is Bernardo Silva, who has achieved so much since joining Manchester City in the summer of 2017.
The Portuguese star has become one of the key players for City during their dominance under Pep Guardiola. Indeed, across 383 games for the Etihad side, Silva has registered 139 goal contributions – 69 goals and 70 assists – while operating in positions that made Cazorla such a threat during his spell with the Gunners.
This season, Silva has created eight big chances in the Premier League while averaging 1.8 key passes and succeeding with one dribble per game – all attributes in which Cazorla excelled.
The 30-year-old has tended to drift out to the right wing throughout the season, as evidenced by his heat map on Sofascore, which is a position Cazorla excelled in.
A move to Arsenal isn’t exactly on the cards anytime soon, but there is no doubt Silva could act like Cazorla 2.0 for the club should the chance ever crop up to join Arteta’s side.
2 Pablo Torre Barcelona
If Silva is someone who won’t be wearing the Arsenal colours during his career, Pablo Torre is still young enough for Arteta to take a further look into his potential.
The 21-year-old moved to Barcelona in 2022 following an impressive spell at Racing Santander, but it took a few years for him to finally make an impact for the Catalan side.
This season, Torre has scored four times while grabbing three assists in just 10 matches, enhancing his reputation with every passing game.
Like Cazorla, Torre doesn’t bully the opposition with his physique, rather his intelligence and vision when on the ball.
He is certainly more at home in a more advanced role, particularly shining in the No 10 position – an area on the pitch where Cazorla was arguably at his best for Arsenal.
During the 2014/15 season, the Spaniard operated behind the striker on 15 occasions, registering seven goal contributions in the process.
When compared to his peers in Europe’s top five leagues via FBref, Torre ranks in the top 4% for progressive passes (7.36) and in the top 7% for pass completion percentage (83.1%) per 90 over the previous 365 days.
Not only does the youngster often look to pass the ball into the final third during games, but he is also content with circulating possession, enabling Barcelona to build attack after attack.
These sorts of traits were commonplace during Cazorla’s time at Arsenal, and if the 21-year-old is ever keen on leaving the La Liga giants, Arteta could do worse than bring him to north London.
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ByDominic Lund 3 Harvey Elliott Liverpool
Perhaps not an obvious name when thinking about players who are similar to Cazorla, but Harvey Elliott fits the ball in more ways than one.
The 21-year-old hasn’t quite secured as much game time as expected under Arne Slot this season at Liverpool, making just 10 appearances across all competitions.
During his time on the pitch, he has played as a No 10, a right-winger and a central midfielder – all positions where Cazorla operated during his time at Arsenal.
Among his peers in Europe’s top five leagues, Elliott shines across a range of metrics that also made Cazorla stand out. Indeed, he ranks in the top 1% for shot-creating actions (5.59) and assists (0.67) per 90, while also ranking in the top 6% for progressive passes (8.13) and the top 5% for progressive carries (2.68) per 90 over the previous 365 days.
These statistics earmark him as a player who could offer similar qualities to Cazorla.
Judging by his lack of game time under Slot, could he potentially be available for a move away from Anfield in the coming months? If so, Arteta should perhaps be looking to bring him to the Gunners, especially as Elliott will want to continue his development in the Premier League.
4 David Pereira da Costa Lens
Like Torre, David Pereira da Costa is certainly a hidden gem when looking at those who demonstrate similar qualities to Cazorla during his spell in north London.
The 24-year-old has been impressive for Lens during his career so far, already racking up a total of 122 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, registering 23 goal contributions in the process.
Pereira da Costa has mainly operated as an attacking midfielder throughout his career, so he isn’t offering as much flexibility as Cazorla did at the Gunners, but his ability in this position means he could be a player following in the Spaniard’s footsteps.
Last season in Ligue 1, Pereira da Costa ranked in the top 24% for passes into the final third (3.07), the top 21% for touches in the defensive third (7.41) and in the top 14% for goals and assists (0.36) per 90.
This indicates that the midfielder not only looks to create chances in the final third for his team with his impressive passing ability, but he isn’t shy in dropping deeper to get the ball in his own half before moving it on.
During the latter years of his spell at Arsenal, Cazorla went from a player who influenced the game from out wide or just behind the striker, to someone who could use his talents at the heart of the midfield, utilising his impressive vision to pick a pass.
The Lens star is certainly an unheralded player in the French top flight, and he might just be someone that Arteta should be keeping his eye on over the next few months.
5 Ethan Nwaneri Arsenal
Ethan Nwaneri is one of the brightest prospects to emerge from the Hale End academy in recent years, arguably since Bukayo Saka made his debut over five years ago.
He became the youngest player to make an appearance in the Premier League when playing against Brentford in 2022 aged just 15 years and 181 days.
The 2023/24 campaign saw the Englishman feature just once, and it was evident that Arteta was keen on managing the hype and expectations surrounding his development.
Due to injury issues among his squad, the manager has now turned to Nwaneri on 18 occasions so far this season, with the 17-year-old even managing to notch five goals in the process.
Despite his tender years, the youngster has displayed plenty of Cazorla-like attributes. Firstly, he has operated in three positions this term: attacking midfielder, right-wing and central midfield – three areas where the Spaniard made such an impact.
Secondly, when he has been called upon in the Premier League, Nwaneri is already performing to a high standard across a range of metrics.
At the time of writing, he has an average pass success rate of 93%, along with succeeding with 70% of his dribble attempts and holding a goal conversion rate of 33% – impressive for someone so young.
If Nwaneri can continue to gain experience across all three of his positions in the coming months, Arteta might just have Cazorla 2.0 already in his first-team squad.
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