Arsene Wenger says Santi Cazorla is in love with football at the moment and claimed his diminutive Spanish maestro is a fine example to all aspiring footballers.
The 30-year-old has been in sparkling form in recent weeks and took his game to a whole new level with a combative and creative showing that helped the Gunners to a confidence-boosting 2-0 victory against reigning Champions Manchester City.
Cazorla broke the deadlock from the spot, assisted Olivier Giroud for Arsenal’s second and for long periods ran the game with an impishness befitting Maradona in his peak. (…indulge us)
Speaking after the game, Wenger touched on the positional change that has sparked the player into new life.
“Since Cazorla has started playing centrally – he played wide a lot and now he’s at a level of his career where he can have more influence centrally – he’s been fantastic because he gets you out of pressure in very tight situations.
“He finds openings that are very interesting. He is a good example for young players, he shows you how important it is to be two footed in the middle of the park – it’s a vital quality for a midfielder today – and he does that very well. He loves the game.”
On an afternoon when Arsene Wenger’s men conceded 65% of possession to Manchester City it was Arsenal’s defensive discipline that was particularly eye-catching.
At the heart of the team was Francis Coquelin, a man who continues to surprise all with his tenacious in the tackle and calmness on the ball.
“I took him from France at the age of 16,” Wenger said of his compatriot.
“Today he is 23. He has gone through some difficult periods but he’s a learner from his experiences. I’ve always kept faith in him, because I told him three months ago that he needed to play somewhere.
“He accepted to go down to Charlton and had convincing performances. Now he’s come back, I’ve played him and he’s done very well.”
Very well indeed. His is a reintegration that looks like it could rival Alex Song’s tale.
Love them both.
COYR.
I would really like to see the Coq get a proper chance at the club. I know there is the clamour for signings, but to see him succeed would be so much sweeter.
Of course it would! He’s our Coq! One shouldn’t part from his Coq, even if a foul thing as marriage is in question!
I remember Coq contract was extended for 7 years. I wondered then why we have done that. I don’t remember any other player signed up for that long but Wenger seemed to have a plan for his development and it looks its working. Kudos
If i’m honest, I think Wenger brought him back from Charlton out of necessity rather than it being part of his overall plan. He’s been more than a pleasant surprise though. If Arteta had stayed fit and Charlton made a bid in January, I imagine we might have accepted. Delighted for the guy though. The position is his now if he can keep this up
wenger alluded to this in this post match presser stating something along the lines of it being a blessing in disguise that sometimes you find the right player within your own squad accidentally. however it has ocurred, give him due credit for finding him in the first place.
Absolutely. credit where it’s due. I liked the look of him when he first arrived. Was disappointed when it looked like it wasnt happening for him.
I can’t even..
Please do be honest darling
Coquelin definitely deserves an extension to his contract. He’s been playing well and depth is vital. And of course, I believe in keeping players educated within the club.
You’ve got to give Arsene’s Coq a hand. Even Patrick Viera (funny enough, currently employed by Manchester Sh!tty) would have been proud.
And as for Santi Cazorla… if Gangnam Style can earn 1 billion YouTube hits I see no reason why a video compilation of our Spanish magician ‘dancing’ at his best couldn’t do the same.
He’s doing fantastic Francis Coquelin, so glad we won let this be Arsenals turning point I would be happy with Europa if we don’t make top four we will have a better chance of winning it but I would prefer champions league tho (winning it)
Europa you say?
You know a player is top when arseblog gives him a rating of 11/10. But I suppose the extra 1 rating us from the jig after giroud scored the second goal.
Coquelin has been absolutely brilliant since he came back. On current form he is ahead of both Flamini and Arteta. But there is a bit of Flamini 07/08 about him in the sense that his contract is up in June and might need some convincing about staying with us. I hope we ve learned the lessons from the past and afford him the opportunity to further his career with us. I ve always been impressed by him even during his run in the team as a full back. Even if we do end up signing the fabled DM everyone is… Read more »
Sagna loves football. Sigh.
I know it is easy to fall into knee jerk reaction hero mode based on his performances but I would be pretty happy for the remainder of the season and going into next to;
Let coq share cdm with a (summer) first xi cdm (flamini for the remainder of this)
Let jack and Aaron fight over box to box role
Let Santi and mesut have at it for no.10
Arteta and rosicky as the veterans should be kept around to plug any gaps and as the situation demands
Flamini and poor diaby I feel are in their last arsenal seasons
They both bring different things to the team but I think Aaron would edge out Jack simply because he is more composed on the ball and gives it away less than Jack.
spot on i think
Santi was outstanding yesterday! Saw this graphic on the BBC site yesterday:
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/80358000/jpg/_80358787_santicazorla.jpg
He ran the park!
Santi finds openings for le coq to get in
Surely Coq could be the younger Flamini replacement. Then we could get a younger Arteta replacement, and midfield would be set.
Schneiderlin to replace Arteta?
Schneiderlin’s injured and out for about a month.
Although come to think of it, he should fit right in then.
Remember the last time we beat a top team 2-0 away from home in Europe three seasons ago? We went on a very good run and finished well. Watch history repeat itself with Carzola and others taking centre stage.
Fantastic to see Coq take the chance when it was given and a proper miracle story because he was to all intents and purposes finished as an Arsenal player until the injury crisis got so bad that we had to call him back from loan. He’s gone from being stuck on the left-wing at Freiburg to being a core part of our engine room and it’s purely down to him grabbing his (last?) chance with both hands when offered. He has to keep it up but it’s interesting to already see a shift in the consensus from December that we… Read more »
Gotta love Coq….and to think it was under our nose all the time. Heh….
It was really surprising that Wenger sent Coquelin out on loan back in the Summer when we hadn’t signed enough defenders with his ability to play the outside back positions in a pinch and provide depth at DM, but looks like it was a blessing in disguise giving him much needed playing time early on. Certainly has done a great job, not the best passer we have for that role, but certainly at least what Flamini is. However, the defensive work he does is far more important and does much better than both DMs we have played with in the… Read more »
oh we fans are so fickle minded 😛
I always love it when a player Wenger sidelines in favor of some of his “favorite sons” gets the chance and grabs it by the b@ll$. Then he goes and talks about the player like he knew what he was doing all along during post match interviews.
If he didn’t rate him why do you think he’s allowed him to stay at the club for so long when kicking out idiots like Frimpong? Of course he recognised his talent but there’s only one person who can fulfil it.
Coq looks a proper DM in that he actually enjoys the role. He is a better DM than either Arteta or Flamini and I have no doubts will perform well for the remainder of the season. I suspect neither Arteta or Flamini will be at the club next year (Artetas legs have gone and Flamini not really good enough) so I still expect Weng to go after Schneiderlin. But Coq could easily make the role his own for next season as well if he carries on like this.
Throwing away 3-0 lead gave us Monaco in the CL, injuries to players gave us a strong hard coq. Is this finally the year?
The problem with fans is they do not allow for improvement in players. This particularly as we carry a lot of younger players that have yet to hit 23+yrs which is when they are truly formed. We had the same issue with Walcott, Ramsey, now Jack, Campbell. There was all this nonsense that we were only with 6 defenders start of season. True we were a Cback short but we have been developing a phenomenal Rback in the making in Bellerin. He was not counted in squad as anything but a youth player despite convincing performances consistently through pre-season and… Read more »
I think Coq’s performances are as a result of a new mentality in the team. I trusted Wenger when he always said that the weird defeats in the season were mere blips. Coq still has the test of consistency to tackle over the next five months. The trajectory is indeed a hopeful one. Remember, even world class players always need to prove their worth. I believe the current atmosphere will give him the impetus to excel and flourish in his role. It all comes down to the entire team for me. The industry displayed by the team on sunday looks… Read more »