Arsene Wenger Faces Difficult Choice Between Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey
All summer long, Arsene Wenger has preached the importance of consistency and stability in the Arsenal side. The Gunners boss has largely eschewed the transfer market—thus far, Petr Cech is the only senior addition to the squad. Instead, he seems to believe his team will benefit from strengthening existing bonds, developing the codependent thinking that is crucial for their passing game to be successful.
Yet despite that hypothesis, there is still some room for doubt about the precise makeup of Wenger’s preferred XI. Some positions are more set in stone than others. Cech will surely start the season as No. 1, especially now Wojciech Szczesny’s loan move to Roma has been confirmed, and the back four largely picks itself.
Spanish pair Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin appear established as first-choice full-backs, while vice-captain Per Mertesacker seems set to be joined by his regular partner Laurent Koscielny.
It’s ahead of that where things become trickier to predict. We know that Mesut Ozil will be handed the chance to operate as Arsenal’s primary playmaker, playing from the No. 10 spot behind the striker. When he returns from his extended break as a result of his exertions at the Copa America, Alexis Sanchez is a certain starter to his left. At the point of the attack, Olivier Giroud seems primed to see off competition from Theo Walcott to begin the campaign as the de facto centre-forward.
However, the precise composition of the midfield remains something of a mystery. The likes of Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, club captain Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are still waiting to discover how they will fit into the team. Wenger has an enviable problem: He has too much talent to pack into his XI.
The man most likely to be assured of a place is Francis Coquelin. The Frenchman broke into the side last season to tremendous effect, rising quickly from written-off reserve to one of the first names on the teamsheet. His value stems from the fact that his skill set is unique within the Arsenal squad.
Arsenal’s other defensive midfielders, Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, lack the kind of rugged physicality that Coquelin brings to proceedings. He injects tempo and tenacity into the side every time he plays.
Given that Arsenal are certain to line up with their customary 4-2-3-1 system, that means there is just one place in the midfield hub remaining. The two primary candidates are Cazorla and Ramsey, both of whom would have just cause to feel they deserve to start in the centre.
Cazorla was a revelation in that role last year. Having begun the season playing wide on the left, he was shifted inside to join Coquelin in the midst of Arsenal’s annual injury crisis. The results were spectacular: Not only did Cazorla demonstrate an unseen ability to thrive in the tumult of central midfield, but he also struck up an unlikely partnership with Coquelin.
With the Frenchman doing the ball-winning, Cazorla was left to take up creative responsibility from deep, slaloming through the opposition to create space and launch counter-attacks with his ambitious, ambidextrous passing.
That meant that when Ramsey did return from injury, there was no obvious spot for him in his preferred role. In order to ensure he had as many quality players on the pitch as possible, Wenger squeezed Ramsey in on the right wing.
That would have brought back painful memories for the Welshman, who endured a torrid spell in that position shortly after returning from the broken leg that threatened to derail his career. Wenger has a habit of fielding central players out wide early in their development—he seems to believe the narrow dimensions wingers operate in can improve their close control and spatial awareness.
We’ve seen that happen with the likes of Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie in the past—others, such as Nicklas Bendtner, have been less successful.
Ramsey never looked particularly comfortable on the right, and it’s difficult to discern how important a role it played in his evolution as a player. What is certain is that it was only when he returned to the centre that he began to show his best form. In 2013/14, he was Arsenal’s Player of the Season, driving from box-to-box in a way unseen in the Premier League since Steven Gerrard’s pomp.
Ramsey didn’t have a terrible time on the wing at the back end of 2014/15. He’s a better player now: His positional sense and technique has improved sufficiently for him to not look like a fish out of water on the flank. His darting diagonal runs and finishing ability were occasionally reminiscent of Freddie Ljungberg—another midfielder who would undoubtedly have preferred to take up a more central role.
However, Ramsey is not at his best there, and in the long term he is unlikely to be happy with a comparatively peripheral position. Wenger may have to make a choice about whom to construct his midfield around: the crafty Cazorla or the relentless Ramsey.
It’s not an easy call. Cazorla was absolutely outstanding in the second half of last season, and his developing relationship with Mesut Ozil was key to Arsenal’s improving form and finesse. Nevertheless, Ramsey is the younger man and may represent the future engine of the team.
In pre-season, Wenger has toyed with fielding Cazorla as the deepest of Arsenal’s midfielders, perhaps hoping he can slot Ramsey in alongside him. That seems like fanciful thinking: Without Coquelin to protect the back four, Arsenal are simply too vulnerable. It’s a straight-up choice for the Arsenal boss.
The forthcoming Community Shield should provide a fascinating insight into Wenger’s thinking. Both Ramsey and Cazorla have the quality to demand a start in the middle. The challenge for Wenger is to accommodate both in a way that’s satisfactory to the individuals and beneficial to the team.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.
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