The two-footed magician was at it again as he put opened the scoring (8′) in a 2-1 win to put Arsenal 3rd in the Premier League table. 73 touches.
WhoScored Rating – 8.38
Cazorla’s only shot in the game came from the spot, on target and placing it past keeper Speroni to give The Gunners an early lead. The Spanish playmaker created 1 chance for his teammates. Playing crosses (4) into the box, 2 successful as well as spraying 5 long balls, with 2 reaching its target. He made a total tally of 44 passes. A pass accuracy of 77.3%. He hasn’t made that low of a tally in 90′ since the loss at St Mary’s, where he produced just 38 passes (He played 68 minutes of the City game). It’s also almost 10% lower in his average pass accuracy in the league.
Dribbling game still strong. Santi completed 3 out of 4 dribbles, taking on the likes of Joe Ledley (21′), Wilfired Zaha (16′) & Jason Puncheon (75′). Helping back to support the defence he made interceptions deep his own half (19′, 31′ & 81′). He won 3 fouls and committed 1. He also contributed with 4 clearances, with a team total of 81, the highest by a side in the Premier League this season in a single game. Winning 4 tackles and blocking 1 shot, Cazorla had to get stuck in as Arsenal were given a stern test of character and pressure.
Santi Cazorla has now been directly involved in 6 of the 14 league goals Arsenal have scored during 2015 (42.8%). pic.twitter.com/pg3Z2zAl9A
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 21, 2015
He might just have a new nickname too, Penzorla maybe? Why? He’s scored 7 league goals this season, but 6 of them have come from the spot. After a shaky start to the season Cazorla is very much the player you need to out-perform if you’re an Arsenal player looking to get into the side. But healthy competition please.