Santi Cazorla: Liverpool are serious title contenders

Santi Cazorla is a great admirer of his teammate Mesut Ozil

Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla has hailed team-mate Mesut Ozil as a ‘gift’ and admitted that his arrival from Real Madrid came as a surprise to the players. The Spanish wizard also admitted that he views Liverpool as title contenders this season.

Ozil signed for the Gunners on transfer deadline day last summer and made an instant impact on Arsenal’s fortunes this season, helping them climb to the top of the Premier League.

“He brings us something different, because he’s all talent, what he does is magic,” Cazorla told El Pais. “It seems like he’s not there and then he changes a game with one control, one pass.

“It surprised us that he came to Arsenal, because you don’t expect him to leave Madrid and then choose our team. For us he’s a gift.”

Cazorla also reflected on their season so far, and believes that the side has matured at the right time with the addition of several key signings.

“We’ve matured, I think,” Cazorla added. “It’s nice to see yourself top, it gives you strength and confidence, but there’s a long way to go.

“We had to be more consistent and we are now, that is a defect that we have corrected. The team is not as ‘innocent’, we are committing fewer errors.

“Last year, through forgetfulness or lack of concentration, we lost games stupidly and we have learned from that.”

But, the Spaniard is wary of the competition from the chasing pack and insists Arsenal still have a long way to go before they can relax.

“The Premier League is very open,” he continued. “[Manchester] United beat us and they are now only five points behind, just like that things can change.

“And then there is Liverpool, who are the surprise of the campaign and I think are serious candidates because they have strengthened well.

“They have put together a compact team and they have the advantage of only playing in one competition. But look at [Manchester] City, who lost against Sunderland, or Tottenham, who lost at home. The Premier League is not easy, it’s not Spain, it’s more equal.”

Cazorla has found it difficult to get going after injury interrupted his start to the season but there are signs the Spaniard is finding another gear with 12 chances created for team-mates in seven games.