Why Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla needs to up his game

Santi Cazorla

Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from a humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Premier League leaders Chelsea when they host a struggling Swansea City outfit on Tuesday night. The Gunners’ title hopes may well be fading but this encounter at the Emirates has the potential to re-ignite their season.

Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game in charge definitely didn’t go to plan but there is no time for Arsenal to start feeling sorry for themselves. Injuries may have hampered their progress significantly in recent weeks but they should still believe that they have enough quality to overcome the Swans. With games against Manchester City, Everton and the small matter of an FA Cup semi-final to come, you get the feeling that this clash has now become a must-win game if they are to gain any sort of momentum ahead of such a tough run of fixtures.

Record-signing Mesut Ozil remains sidelined with a hamstring injury which means Santi Cazorla will once again take on the role as their main creator. Like most of his fellow team-mates, the Spaniard was largely ineffective at Stamford Bridge so will have a point to prove here. Perhaps surprisingly, Cazorla is rated as Arsenal’s best player outside of the defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny this season with a Performance Score of 680.

Arsenal player stats

Cazorla loves to work in the pockets of space in between the lines and thrives in a more central position. When he plays on the left-hand side, although he works well in the channels, he is always trying to cut inside, which does make him slightly more predictable than if he plays in his favoured number 10 role.

Only Ozil (63) has created more chances than Cazorla’s 42 in the Premier League at Arsenal this season but that total is nothing compared to the 95 the Spaniard amassed last year. The majority of his key passes have come from a central area of the pitch just outside of the eighteen yard box (54.8%), proving this point even further.

Cazorla total chances created

Cazorla’s major strength is his ability to link play in tight areas of the pitch and pick out through balls. Despite playing in an advanced area of the pitch, his pass accuracy remains at an impressive 87%, with 63.5% of his 1,238 completed passes going forwards. His neat and tidy passing ability will be needed when Arsenal are in possession as Swansea press very high up the pitch and like to win the ball back as quickly as possible when they lose it. Meanwhile, this has the potential to offer Cazorla more space in behind the Swans’ central midfielders.

Santi Cazorla pass accuracy

Although Cazorla’s passing statistics are quite impressive, he would have wanted more than four goals and four assists in the Premier League to his name this season. In his debut campaign at Arsenal following his move from La Liga side Malaga, he managed 12 goals and provided 11 assists. While accommodating Ozil into the side has obviously been a priority for Wenger, it means Cazorla’s form has suffered somewhat.

Santi Cazorla goals scored

In the absence of the German on Tuesday, it is Cazorla’s chance to shine against one of the Premier League’s bottom half sides. He will have a pivotal role in Arsenal’s team in the final few weeks of the season and starting against Swansea, Cazorla has to step up to the plate.