Mesut Ozil dominated the back pages for his sensational hat-trick against Ludogorets at home but the game would also be remembered for that injury sustained by Santi Cazorla to his Achilles. This had been a niggling problem for the Spaniard but we hoped it was going to be a minor issue. The days turned into weeks as the diminutive midfielder required surgery to rectify the issue and it was expected that he was going to be out of action going into the new year.
We are approaching the third month of the year, with the Gunners out of the Premier League title racer and more or less out of Europe, with the FA Cup offering some hope of silverware this season. But it’s likely that the lads will have to soldier on without Cazorla as he would be out for the rest of the season, courtesy of that Achilles problem and is now scheduled to return in August.
Just like Abou Diaby and Mikel Arteta before him, Cazorla has now taken the mantle as the injury torch bearer for the club. It seems easy to forget that he had such a lengthy injury layoff last season as well, following a nasty tackle in the draw against Norwich City at Carrow Road. He was out from November till May, before making a comeback in the final game of the campaign against already-relegated Aston Villa.
This is a real cause for concern, as the midfielder has shown that he can’t be relied upon to stay fit, and with Aaron Ramsey and more recently, Mohamed Elneny still having fitness issues, Wenger can only call on the erratic Granit Xhaka, Francis Coquelin and our newest central midfield option, Alex Oxalde-Chamberlain.
Nonetheless, the club has explored the option of extending the 32-year-old’s contract by an additional year, which is a huge show of faith from the Arsenal staff. Santi Cazorla is such an important asset to the team but with his continued absence, the club may have to move on without him.
I wish him a speedy recovery in his bid to gain full fitness.
Sayonara
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily. I’ll follow back
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
Leave a Reply