Arsenal Transfer Rumors: Santi Cazorla Will Thrive on the Wing for Gunners

Arsenal is closing in on Malaga winger Santi Cazorla and the Gunners’ attack will reap immediate benefits from bringing the Spanish international to London.

Sid Lowe and David Hytner of the Guardian reported that Cazorla has struck a deal with his La Liga club to make the move, and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will have to pay €20 million for the 27-year-old’s services.

Cazorla’s exit from Malaga seemed imminent when the club failed to pay its players 35-40 percent of their salaries, as reported by Goal.com’s Luis Mira. The side finished fourth in La Liga last season.

Considering Wenger’s master’s degree in economics, Arsenal will certainly be able to guarantee Cazorla his wages in full and can provide him with an excellent football environment. 

Cazorla is a pure winger who makes his living near the touchline. He is a complete player who is comfortable on either side of the pitch and is equally dangerous when crossing or cutting inside. 

His statistics over the past two seasons show that he can take on a role as a scorer or a distributor. In his only year with Malaga, he recorded nine goals and five assists. While playing for Villarreal in 2010-11, he scored just five goals but dished out 10 assists.

Cazorla’s production and versatility led to him being honored with a spot on Spain’s victorious Euro 2012 squad. However, he was buried under a ridiculous amount of talent on the roster and made just two appearances as a substitute.

Still, his production for his clubs and inclusion on the Spanish national team prove his worth and show that he is a fantastic player.

Arsenal has had a busy summer and has already added two other attacking players. The team secured Lukas Podolski before the English Premier League season ended, and signed Olivier Giroud in June. 

These three players will join Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gervinho as attacking options who will certainly be suiting up for the Gunners this coming season. 

Andrey Arshavin will likely be sold, as noted by Lowe and Hytner, and the Robin Van Persie transfer saga continues to drag on. Even without these two players, Wenger has given himself enough talent to field a competitive team every week.

Wenger has never allowed Arsenal to finish worse than fourth place in the Premiership, and it is because of shrewd moves like signing Cazorla. 

The winger will fit perfectly with the Gunners and cause opposing defenses problems with piercing runs up the sideline. Both player and club will benefit greatly from this move.