Santi Cazorla out for 5 months: 3 ways Arsenal can replace him

Arsenal playmaker Santi Cazorla will miss another five months after more surgery. Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka can help the Gunners replace him.

Santi Cazorla’s injury nightmare will continue as the midfielder confirmed he will miss another five months. Cazorla needs another surgery to fix the ankle problem that’s kept him out since October.

He told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, via ESPN FC’s Adriana Garcia, how the latest procedure will rule him out for longer:

"I haven’t been given a timeframe [to return to action]. It’s very difficult to put a date, but I don’t think it will be before five months.It’s been since October that I last played. I’ve undergone eight surgeries, the last one yesterday [Monday]. I hope that things go better."

Cazorla also confirmed how Arsenal extended his contract in December, a reminder of his value. There’s no doubt the Gunners missed the Spaniard’s vision and intelligent, two-footed distribution this season.

Fortunately for Arsenal, manager Arsene Wenger has three obvious ways of replacing Cazorla.

1. Stick with Aaron Ramsey

After spending most of the season looking for a suitable stand-in for Cazorla, Wenger finally settled on Aaron Ramsey in late-March. The Welshman had some initial struggles, but the results were eventually spectacular.

Ramsey scored the winner to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. It’s his second winning goal in a Cup final since 2014.

Ramsey’s running in-behind proved useful once Wenger switched the Gunners to a 3-4-2-1 formation. The ex-Cardiff City prospect formed a complementary tandem with deep-lying playmaker Granit Xhaka.

Although he has struggled with injuries, Ramsey is a magnificent player when fit and on form. He’s a true box-to-box workhorse who can score goals in bunches. Ramsey’s vision is also underrated: check out his deft assists for Mesut Ozil in a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough in April, and for Olivier Giroud to help beat Southampton 2-0 in mid-May.

Gambling on Ramsey’s fitness would be a risk from Wenger, but he knows better than most how effective the Wales international can be.

2. Give Jack Wilshere his chance

If Ramsey’s had his fitness woes, Jack Wilshere’s career has been one torturous injury ridden nightmare. The pint-sized technician spent most of last season on loan with Bournemouth, but returned to Arsenal after breaking his leg in April.

It’s one more bitter blow for a player who has barely played for the Gunners since his ankle ligaments gave way during preseason in 2011. Some, including John Cross of the Daily Mirror, believe Wilshere could be sold this summer.

However, Wenger has always been a huge fan of the England schemer. On a technical level, Wilshere is a marvel, a player who can glide past markers and exploit gaps with his wand of a left foot.

A deeper, more possession-based role, like the one Cazorla has reinvented himself in since 2014, may be the tonic Wilshere’s stalled career needs. Even so, he’s an even a bigger fitness risk than Ramsey.

Next: Premier League 2016-17 season grades: Arsenal

3. Let Granit Xhaka become Cazorla

Cazorla’s injury has increased the importance of Granit Xhaka. He took his time, but the man who cost close to £35 million last summer has steadily developed into a cultured pass-master, one who could do the things Cazorla does.

Sure, he’s not as two-footed as Cazorla, nor can he wriggle and turn away from defenders like the little Spaniard. But the idea of Xhaka replacing Cazorla is not such a fanciful one.

What he does offer is the efficiency on the ball to knit play together and keep Arsenal ticking the way Cazorla did. Xhaka started to show those qualities more and more during the season’s final two months.

Adam Hamdani of Squawka detailed how efficient Xhaka was during a four-match stretch in April:

https://twitter.com/AdamHamdani_/status/857337542877876228

Xhaka continued to thrive in May, barely putting a foot wrong during the 2-0 win over Manchester United:

There is probably a reason why Wenger stuck with Francis Coquelin next to Cazorla at the start of the 2016-17 season. Maybe the Gunners boss believed Xhaka was too similar to the Spaniard.

Signing a natural holding player to do the defensive work Xhaka sometimes struggles with would be the perfect way for Arsenal to stay strong in midfield without Cazorla next season.