Hey r/gunners
I have just listened to the Arsenal Sweden podcast where it has discussed among other things about popular Arsenal players who were perhaps worse in reality than what our fans have wanted them to be.
I heard names like Elneny, Hleb and Santi Cazorla and then I lost it! Santi Cazorla was not as good as Arsenal fans think he was! What??
The man is one of my favorite arsenal players Emirates era, a magician on a pitch. I’ve always believed that Santi Cazorla doesn’t get the recognition he truly deserves. His time in football was filled with moments of pure magic.
Do you agree with me or am I totaly wrong on this one? I’d love to hear your thoughts and memories of his time in football.
How would you rate Santi Cazorla’s skill and influence on the game?
What were some of your favorite moments or matches featuring him?
Do you think he’s often underrated or overlooked in discussions of top midfielders?
EDIT: I’m so happy to read the appreciation Santi deserves and I just wanted to add that I disagree with that podcast about Hleb as well but wanted only to focus on Cazorla in this one.
He had a whole career where he was highly rated at the highest level, not just arsenal.
People who say things like this either just want hot takes, don’t watch much football, or have something against arsenal
Elneny: Bought majorly for his engine. He was mostly a depth player, the ones you sub on to finish off games. He’d have been awesome depth for Klopp Liverpool. Probably bad luck that he existed in terrible set-ups but was better than he showed us. There were always glimpses of how he can be like that brief moment he replaced Xhaka.
Fanbase never rated him and I have no idea why that podcast tries to force it.
Hleb: Immediately doubt the ball knowledge of anyone who underrates Hleb. No one called him world class, we just rated him right as the unsung hero of the magical 2007/8 side. He’s one of those people who barely showed up on G/A sheets but was keeping everything ticking.
Watch highlights of 2007/8 and see how much he’s carrying the attack. If you don’t have the time, see his plays Vs Manchester United.
Santi: He was the reason we missed out on CL the first time, and one of the reasons we didn’t win the league in 2015/16. There are little butterfly moments on why Chelsea won the league but one was when Santi got injured. We were superior to eventual champions in 2016/17 until Santi got injured. His newfound role as a deep-lying playmaker had harmonised the squad and made us a title contender as seen in that rout of Chelsea.
He wasn’t a good #10( we have the same argument for Odegaard time to time), but he was a demi-god at build-up. Terrible luck he moved to a big club late(Málaga wasted his time), but I believe he’d have got into the Spanish XI. Xavi himself wondered how he didn’t end up at Barcelona. He still wants his profile to this day and thinks he’s the best player he has managed( Santi was in his 30s when Xavi managed him).
Calling him overrated is zero ball knowledge. His profile was almost similar to Marco Verratti’s but as said above, his career choices and ultimately bad injury, made his ceiling lower than it should have been. Remember, career choices aren’t about ability. Your agent, contracts and some tiny aspects can leave a great player in mediocrity.
I’m guessing this podcast is by people who were still in primary education while Santi was playing? The man has 80+ caps for a Spain despite the team featuring arguably the best midfield of all time, so unless you’re trying to say he is better than Xavi or Iniesta you are not overrating him.
Hleb was so bad that Pep signed him for Barca
If Cazorla stayed injury free we’d have another 2 titles I’d say. He was hugely influential.
If Cazorla stayed injury free we’d have another 2 titles I’d say. He was hugely influential.
The beginning of the downfall of Mesut Ozil as a world-class player happened when Santi got injured. I truly believe if we could have kept Santi healthy, we would have won/challenged for the league.
Absolute genius
He was the best player at the club between signing him and getting permacrocked. He was better than Ozil, better than Ramsey. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say he’s overrated before. Incredible player and he’d make the current 11 in his prime too, without doubt
I agree with you. Santi Cazorla had a sophisticated playing style. Two footed. Wasn’t the most physical tackler but he certainly made up for it with his ability to intercept a pass. The mistake was probably not pairing him up with another more physical CDM that was technically better than Coquelin and more athletic than Arteta.
He also had that serious, prolonged Achilles injury that almost ended his career. I kinda blame Arsene and the trainers for overplaying him. Then he had have some sort of tendon/muscle graft placed secondary to post op infection leading to sepsis. He essentially almost lost his foot. He was never the same after that unfortunate event.
I agree with you. Santi Cazorla had a sophisticated playing style. Two footed. Wasn’t the most physical tackler but he certainly made up for it with his ability to intercept a pass. The mistake was probably not pairing him up with another more physical CDM that was technically better than Coquelin and more athletic than Arteta.
He also had that serious, prolonged Achilles injury that almost ended his career. I kinda blame Arsene and the trainers for overplaying him. Then he had have some sort of tendon/muscle graft placed secondary to post op infection leading to sepsis. He essentially almost lost his foot. He was never the same after that unfortunate event.
Santi was good enough to get 81 caps for Spain during the time they had the best international side in history. I think he’s rated about right to be fair
Santi was good enough to get 81 caps for Spain during the time they had the best international side in history. I think he’s rated about right to be fair
The beginning of the downfall of Mesut Ozil as a world-class player happened when Santi got injured. I truly believe if we could have kept Santi healthy, we would have won/challenged for the league.
The only thing he could be underrated is he missed quite games because of injury but still has been one of the most beloved player besides we don’t love Rosicky or Wilshere as much as him. About skill, seriously anyone who watched the game can’t doubt it.