Aside from having to take care of a spate of accidents, it is beginning to really feel like every thing goes effectively for Arsenal this season.
Mikel Arteta’s aspect have nearly perfected the artwork of set items, making them nearly inconceivable to attain and in consequence sit on the high of the Premier League.
Moreover, whereas lots of the offensive gamers nonetheless have rather a lot to supply, lots of the gamers who fell brief final yr are beginning to get again to their finest.
That features one among Arteta’s signings, who has even been in comparison with the enduring Santi Cazorla – no, that is not Martin Zvimendi.
Santi Cazorla’s Arsenal profession
Cazorla joined Arsenal from Spanish aspect Malaga for simply £16 million in the summertime of 2012 and it did not take lengthy for him to make an impression on the membership.
The mercurial midfielder produced a man-of-the-match efficiency in his debut for North London towards Sunderland, and ended his first season with 12 targets and 14 assists in 49 video games.
By the point he left the Gunners in August 2018, he had amassed a formidable 29 targets and 45 assists in simply 180 appearances, nevertheless it was not his outcomes however his type of play that made him such a agency fan favourite.
On good kind, the 40-year-old magician seemed like he might do all of it, from taking part in outrageous balls from one finish of the pitch to the opposite, to driving with the ball and beating opposing defenders with ease.
The generally two-footed magician was the embodiment of what Wenger needed his staff to be on the pitch, somebody who might win video games with unbelievable talent and entertain paying followers on the similar time.
There are numerous examples of the Spaniard reaching exceptional issues within the well-known pink and white, however maybe essentially the most iconic and impactful was the free-kick within the 2014 FA Cup closing that sparked the membership’s resurgence.
There is not any telling what Cazorla might have achieved at Arsenal if he had stayed wholesome. The membership has not had a participant like him since then, however there’s somebody within the present squad who has been in comparison with the Emirates icon.
Arsenal star in comparison with Cazorla
Now, the primary participant that involves thoughts for many individuals right here is Zvimendi. In any case, he’s a Spanish midfielder with nice passing width and the flexibility to make use of each toes when essential.
Nonetheless, on this occasion, the comparisons to the previous Arsenal star are as a result of one other former Gunners nice, Kevin Campbell, which has Leandro Trossard involved.
Sure, Campbell was filled with reward for the Belgian when talking in 2023, saying that though “they do not play in the identical place”, “he is as quick as Santi, so you may examine him”.
He went on to check the previous Brighton & Hove Albion participant to Santi, who additionally “picks issues up shortly and Santi can decide issues up shortly.”
Aside from sporting the quantity 19 shirt, one other similarity the 30-year-old shares with the Spaniard is his unbelievable capacity to make use of each toes with none issues.
This may be seen throughout matches, with Genk’s former coach as soon as telling Sky Sports activities that the dynamic left winger is certainly “each right-footed and left-footed.”
Lastly, though there are nonetheless many different variations between the 2, one other essential commonality is the Maasmechelen-born expertise’s capacity to make issues occur, usually by ending alternatives that most individuals would take into account too tough.
In any case, that is why Arteta known as him a “little magician” and why Ian Wright boldly claimed he was the Gunners’ “finest finisher”.
In any case, Trossard is just not the identical participant that Cazorla used to play for Arsenal, however he definitely has rather a lot in frequent with the Spaniard, from his two-footed capacity to his technical stage and talent to make issues occur.
