New boy Santi Cazorla says he feels the pressure of his big money move to Arsenal but that his deployment in the role just behind the striker is the one that suits him best.
The Spaniard has paid tribute to Arsene Wenger, and his teammates, in an interview with El Pais. Asked about the pressure of moving from Malaga to Arsenal and what Wenger said to him when he signed, Cazorla said, “They have paid an important amount of money for me and the role they’ve given me is the one I like.
“I love the style of the team. Wenger’s philosophy is to control the game and I like to be on the ball. Furthermore, the boss has put me in a position, second striker, with all the freedom I want to have.
“He told me to be at ease and that he’d play me where I could most help the team. It surprised me in pre-season when he put me as the second striker. I’ve come to play on the wings with the freedom to move inside, but Wenger has immediately put me in this position. With Arteta, Diaby, Rosicky and Wilshere, who is recovering from injury, we’re going to have a lot of the ball.”
When asked about what he has to do on the pitch in England differently to Spain, he explained, “Arteta has advised me a lot, he told me football is much faster and less tactical than Spain. It’s more give and go. Mikel has helped me to learn to see the game and said that if we play rapidly with the ball we’re going to create a lot of danger and we’ll beat most teams.”
And the praise for his fellow Spaniard didn’t stop there, with Cazorla confirming that the manager is now going to use Arteta as a defensive midfielder.
“Wenger wants him now as a defensive pivote and he’s doing if very well. He gives real balance and he can win the ball back and play it out because with the ball he’s spectacular.”
So, it’s so far so good for Cazorla who says learning English is very important and he’s having English lessons twice a week with the same tutor who taught Cesc.
After three games it’s perhaps too soon to say the money spent on him was a bargain, but when Arsene Wenger says ‘We’re lucky to have him’, when speaking about his quality, that tells you everything you need to know.
And Cazorla gives me the freedom to love how he plays.
It seem’s that our best formation may be 4-2-3-1 with the ball, and 4-4-1-1 without the ball Cazorla ofcourse given the freedom of the pitch. In this free role, Cazorla is able to be at his penetrative best.
Just how many crys have we had about a proper replacement for cesc?, I say in cazorla we’ve finally found one with a bonus of pace and two tremendous feet.
Na the new formation is 4132 all us coaches are raving about it.
Tony pubis uses 2-8
2(kick ball in the air)
8(fight for ball in the air)
When things get really bad. 1(goalie)-10(hooligans)
Very positive. Tactical acumen seems a big talking point already this season.
There was an interview after the Liverpool game where Wenger was asked his thoughts on Cazorla. He paused for a moment, let out a sigh and flashed one of those smiles. He was literally speechless. I don’t think Wenger can really believe that we got him.
Wenger wanted say ” Santi Cluase has come to town,come to town” before dancing like a little boy with his favourite new new christmas present
Yep Irony, I saw that. He looked a little embarrased, almost like he got a chubby thinking about how exceptional Santi is, and how lucky he, Arsene, is for landing the perfect replacement for Cesc
Might take a season then before we land the perfect replacement for Van cuntsie. Oh well. Giroud is good
I was having the same feeling during the transfer saga: “I CANNOT believe we’re not in a bidding war for this guy!”
he’s my Santi Clause.
Always feel like I’m gonna die of football-starvation during the interlull…
I´m thinking of becoming a hacker, just for the duration of international fixtures, to ease the boredom.
I could hack websites full of inane stories about how Terry loves the Three Lions and replace them with more interesting tales like how he thinks he cannot be a rampant racist as he´s friends with Cashley Hole and he hopes Cashley doesn´t leave Chelsea as he´s the closest thing to a black friend he has and is in no way a choc ice, etc., etc.
And then I could call myself Inter-Lulz Sec…
* Gets cyber-coat *…
That was very well played
Pretty pretty good!
What is there not to love about this guy? His performances in the league have been very impressive to say the least. My favourite part of the article, “Mikel has helped me to learn to see the game and said that if we play rapidly with the ball we’re going to create a lot of danger and we’ll beat most teams.”
Love the pinch of humility at the end too. Things are looking good for The Arsenal!
Cazorla!!!!, he is tough to defend against coz if you close him down, he’ll thread a ball right through you and find giroud, poldi anyone and if you back off, he’ll shoot. And which foot will he shoot with?. A mystery.
Some say that he can see a defense cutting pass even when blindfolded and that he has a laser range finder implanted in his head… all we know is that he’s called Santi Cazorla!
I bet the defenders wine alot in the locker rooms coz
He’s cazorla, he shoots when they don’t fucking want.
Not sure why Arsene never gave that role to Arshavin in the seasons before. He is surely far more effective there than on the left, and the behind-the-striker role does not account for much defensive responsibility. Maybe the reason why Arshavin stuck around because he is a direct replacement for Santi if he needs to be rested.
All you have to do is to watch Cazorla and you’ll know why.
AW tried him there. For example League Cup against Bolton 2011. october:
http://www.thegunninghawk.com/2011/10/26/arsene-wenger-andrey-arshavin-loves-to-play-behind-the-strikers/
Ahh..man, I saw the URL and for a moment I thought thegunninghawk is back…but that just remained for a split second 🙁
I actually remember him having a pretty good game in the CAM role that day
Go back to your Euro 2012 vids and watch Arshavin play for Russia and dont watch highlights, watch the entire match. Arshavin may have had a few eye catching assists but he was a lazy little shite off the ball
Cazorla is like an Arshavin that has just had 20 Red Bulls
Exactly. The difference in approach between the two is staggering.
Arshavin plays with the wenger handbrake on, but cazorla is just a full throttle AM. Thread a ball to him even when engulfed in a crowd he’ll still find a way to return it. Between your legs, over you, around you, his ball will find you.
not this shit again!!
yes i agree .. arshavin could have been tried in that role after fabregas’ departure. but now cazorla is here arshavin has to play in the capital one cup as a second striker to chamakh.
lol. That got me literally coughing.
“With Arteta, Diaby, Rosicky and Wilshere, who is recovering from injury, we’re going to have a lot of the ball.”
Yes you are! Me need football now! Roll on the weekend!
Arteta is so important to the team. It’s easy to see why we cashed in on Song….I mean he wasn’t an efficient DM last season and he doesn’t play the box-to-box role as well as Diaby ,Wilshere or many other midfielders out there.
I really hope Coq is learning all he can from Arteta because sooner or later he will be called up to cover for him.
i cant remember the last time i was so upbeat about a arsenal team, but what i dont get is why did arsene not build on the team we had when we had cesc , nasri , rvp, surly we would of had an outstanding chance in winning the league, just imagine arteta cesc carzola in midfeild … im hearing reports that cesc is not happy at barca .. any chance of a cheeky return??
Apparently, when Cesc went to Barca, his body was physically exhausted from being over-used, leading to his many injuries. I would hate for Cesc to come back to be exhausted again. He put us through the “will he, wont he” for years and then finally he fooked off.
With Cazorla, Wilshere, Rocky, Ramsey and Diaby as our creative/attacking options, we don’t need Cesc anymore.
One of the biggest differences between Santi and Cesc is pace – Cesc had very little, Santi isnt that bad
A bit harsh on Cesc. I remember with fondness him intercepting a ball from a restart, surging through and past the defence to score a wonderful goal… against Spuds I think it was. Ah, yes. *smiles*
I can’t believe the comments on here about Cesc. Was it his fault he was run into the ground or that he was born in Barcelona? He was an unbelievable servant to the club and a incredibly consistent performer. Saying that we are now stacked in midfield and that Cazorla is far superior is fickle indeed. Dont get me wrong i’m enjoying Cazorla but lets not forget how great Cesc was. If he wanted back in at Arsenal i would absolutely love it!
Not to say that we can’t thrive in his absence, but Cesc is surely one of the best players the Premiership has seen. What he lacked in pace he more than made up for in phenomenal (on field) judgement and strength of will. Perfectly suited to this league, he ran games for us on a regular basis. Like many though I was unimpressed at how he left, and a returning Cesc might not be quite the same player. Cazorla is a joy, and it will be fascinating to see what he brings to the team over time. A Cazorla/Wilshere pairing… Read more »
I am not anti-Cesc, just past-Cesc. Yes he was brilliant for us and we created a team to play around him. BUT, he left and we had to rebalance our squad and change our style of play.
I am a jilted lover. Cesc kissed my ring (my beloved Arsenal badge) and I am hurt that he walked out on me, I guess. Maybe Cesc/Santi works very well but until I am sure Cesc really, really loves me (the Arsenal fan), I dont want to consider him in my life!
ah yes…every rose has its thorn…
I love you arseblog. Continue your good work and I must say Cazorla is the biggest talent in the epl. He is too comfortable on the ball,
Santi Cazorla… U couldnt get the ball off him in a telephone box!
Yikes! Change that picture. You’re scaring little kids and the elderly.
So which one are you?, the little kid or the elderly.
Little of both I guess.
Get a life…. Should change ur name from frog to troll…. What a mug!
Oh and by the way….. Dont recall my face scarin ur mum! 😉
Santi the magician!!!!!!!
Carzola is a class act. This guy could become a massive star at Ashburton and the Premier League.
My only worry is that we won’t be able to keep hold of him. If he has a huge season then I’m sure that City/United/Barcelona/Real Madrid will come looking for him armed with an extremely large cheque. As we are no longer a football club but a business, Carzola could suddenly disappear in a puff of banknotes.
I hope not…
I’n not worried. Song was let go because our midfield is stacked with talent. Also Arsene seems to have always known that Arteta was an effective (or better) DM than Song.
Santi has a long contract and he wont be let go for years to come, unless Arsene thinks he can replace him with Wilshere, Ramsey, etc. I do believe that Wilshere could be playing at Cazorla skill levels in a few years time.
Its all good!!!
Could u pls lighten up?
So instead of enjoying the little man and his soft feet while he is playing for us, you are giving yourself headache over a future sale that may or may not happen?
This is exactly what is wrong with the game at the moment. Supporters are losing focus as to why they go to games and enjoy football.
I want Wenger to build a team capable of winning the Premier League and the Champions’ League. Carzola is exactly the kind of player that we need to keep and build around. We have lost so many quality players over the last four years that I now have no confidence that we will keep him for any length of time.
That why I just can’t ‘enjoy the liyyle man and his soft feet’. No yet, anyway.
Fatgooner, several deep breaths then repeat after me: Positive Mental Attitude, Positive Mental Attitude, Positive Mental Attitude
you strike me as the type of person who would find a bag of gold, then bitch about how heavy it is…..
and would then blame Wenger
🙂
😀 I can actually see Fatgooner bitching that the gold is too heavy. Classic Iggypup, simply classic. And I hope you happy that my Boss is glaring at me for laughing my head off at work. If I get the sack, its all your fault.
sorry dude..just making an observation…i hope your boss has a sence of humour. if not you can come work on the railroad with me….we’re all clowns over here in the states…
Another gem from Fatso.
Great idea putting Arteta as our defensive midfielder.
I liked Song as a player, and think he’ll do well at Barca, but we definately need a more disciplined player this season in that ‘pivote’ position (as Santi says).
Looking forward to seeing an Arteta-Cazorla-Wilshere central midfield.
I cant see Song performing as a DM…. he is very good going forward but ..he lacks discipline !
Its actually funny how Barca has drained all creativity and freedom out of Song. During the Valencia game, all he did was make a simple sideways pass every 10 minutes. I wont be surprised if in an year from now, he is singing the same song as Cesc.
Both went to great lengths to lose their Right to freedom of expression 🙂
I remember arguing with @bunbuyrist some time ago on who’s better between cazorla and ganso. For some fucked up reason I kept insisting that ganso was miles better,i even made up stories on how much of a keen follower I am of the brazillian league. I take all that back now and if that day was to reoccur I would thumb down myself a hundred times bloody over. Cazorla is just king. Fullstop!
It takes a man to admit his mistakes – welcome aboard the Santi bus!
I have downloaded all his youtube videos and when I sit back and watch, I say yes Santi is a special player.
am i the only one who thinks our players are talking as if they’ve just done a double…..pipe down fellas , for its a marathon…as i speak , diabys already injured…surprise surprise !!
That’s the spirit!
How about trying to enjoy the journey, it’s not just about the destination.
Yes, you are the only one who thinks that. Everyone else has read that they are glad they joined, are enjoying building onfield relationships with their team mates and appreciate the fans response to their arrival.
If you have interviews that contradict that then please do provide the links as I think you have read between the non-existent lines and come up with bullshit. Do you work for the Sun/Daily Mail?
Stop it! People will accuse you of being me!
Don’t worry, you need to be constantly negative over a set period of time for that to happen
The thumbs up is only if your not actually fat gooner!
Should have stopped at ” Carzola is a class act. This guy could become a massive star at Ashburton and the Premier
League.”
Let’s not concern ourselves with the future too much let’s just enjoy cazorla for now and hopefully for many seasons to come. Plus I don’t think wenger will have cazorla slip that easily from his grasp, I bet he would put in a bigger fight than he did for fab and rvp.
he can be sold to man city next season ..or to manu..just like nasri rvp song clichy
Cazorla I hope not but we could trade you in at citeh.
Did Song go to City or Utd?
Cazorla is the identikit of the player we’ve badly missed in the past years: right age, right experience, right quality.
Two or three of these signigns a couple of years ago and we’d have battled for trophies seriously.
fucking….fucking…..swoon. Ps ever notice how when an arsenal import is absolute class the ms media is pure silent?
We don’t need Santa Clause, we’ve got Santi Cazz
Yup. He’s delighting everyone in town alright. I’m sure he’ll even manage to drop some coals down Spurs stockings come derby day.
do you mean he’s going to poo in their football socks? That would be even better than Lasagna-gate!
In the interview with El pais Cazorla also says that The Ox has a spectacular future (but to give him time as he’s only young).
Pillow feet
I find It really hard not to root for this lad. He’s the real deal, a fucking apple pie complete with cherry on top. Very intellingent in his play, knows when to sprint and when not to, handles the ball with such finesse not like hazard who keeps tripping over himself on the wings. (He’s a cunt anyways, enough of that)
Cazorla is Cescy!
Left foot of Liam Brady, right foot of Cesc Fabregas?
I want to put my flange around Cazorla’s beautiful two feet.
that would take quite a big flange…
He’s pure class! He was already considered the best Spanish player outside of Barca-Real and definately better than Mata. But im still surprised at just how good he is, considering Eden Hazard cost the Russians £32m I think we may just have the bargain of the season!
Gotta love this guy.
His confidence is huge and I just love it when he says we’re going to have a lot of the ball in midfield and will beat most teams.
Class act!!!
“With Arteta, Diaby, Rosicky and Wilshere,
who is recovering from injury, we’re going to have a lot of the
ball.”
Man do I Love the sounds of that!
Santi cost about half what City paid for Nasri. Now now gooners, it’s not nice to laugh.
[…] 来源：[Arseblog News] […]
great player and it’s great that we finally got our world class replecement for Cesc!
Who said, who said we cannot win it all.
I say, I say we will scoop it all.
(To the tune of that hannah montana song),
It’s kinda girly but what the heck.
I expect great things from this arsenal side.
Shoot arsenal shoot!, give us a goal……so fucking upbeat right now.
It’s not girly that you know Hannah Montana songs. It’s just plain creepy.
Anyway let’s not take this vick guy point, let’s just moke him thoroughly.
*mock!!!, you fool.
i was hoping you were a chick, like short for victoria, but now it is indeed creepy…
While everyone was freaking out over the players who left Wenger has added some players with the potential to come together as a team. I love reading about Santi discussing strategy with Arteta and Podoloski practicing give-and-goes with Santi. I feel that they’re a like-minded group who want to play fast, Arsenal football. No regrets with how the last two summers went.
Divine player with 2 phenomenal feet, cant take my eyes off him
If we ever got Cesc back and Wilshere from injury imagine that midfield…its a CL winning midfield
cesc left us..he’s NEVER coming back…get over it and move on. i know its hard, i loved him too….so much it hurt…but you need to move forward to be present in the joy that will be this season. onward and upward..
Nice to see Wenger build the team around his tactics rather than build the tactics around the team.
Oh yes Santi Cazorla is a fantastic player…#stalegist# but in other fascinating, scintillating honey coated news…Robin VanIscariot has a thigh injury,hopes it keeps him out for a long while
A ha ha ha ha ha I see STD got injured on intrnational duty with the Dutch …. Couldn’t happen a nicer bloke and by nice I mean ungrateful c u next tuesday.
[…] to Arteta for helping him to settle and he stated that his manager, Arsene Wenger, gives him the freedom he loves, “I love the style of the team. Wenger’s philosophy is to control the game and I like to be on […]
Santi is better than Cesc technically and tactically. Hope also his DNA better than Cesc, eh…
[…] man who didn’t played much last night was Cazorla. His latest interview highlights just how happy he is to be with us. I hate to give sweeping […]
[…] the real world and Santi Cazorla gave an interview yesterday to El Pais, in Spain, parts of which I liberally translated for Arseblog News. It was nice to see that Sky Sports and Sporting Life have such faith in my Spanish that they took […]
I will give my left bollock (the small one) to see this midfield play togheter for at least ten games in a row, where hopefully we can add Jack at some point, before we get a serius injury. I dont think I have it in me to see our team break up in smaller parts throughout the season (again) with long term injuries every three or four games.
Having said that, I just read that Diaby is injured (huge sigh*).. ;(
DiAby injury not serious
Carzola better than Fabregas n Nasri combined
[…] After the Sagna storm had calmed there was then Abou Diaby talking about taking revenge on time, only for this to be predictably followed by his absence through injury. Latest reports indicate that this is precautionary due to his much documented injury record, and that he’ll be back for our Champions League game on Tuesday. Then, to round off our chatty internationals we had Santi Cazorla, who told the Spanish media he is loving the freedom Arsene Wenger is giving him. […]