Why Santi Cazorla wasn’t worth his new deal at Arsenal

Santi Cazorla

Santi Cazorla became the latest player at Arsenal to agree to a new contract earlier this month. He joined Per Mertesacker, Tomas Rosicky and Aaron Ramsey to do so in just the last few weeks. He won the club’s Player of the Season in 2012/13 but hasn’t lived up to those same high standards since.

As he approaches his 30s, was it a gamble to offer him a new deal?

Cazorla is clearly a very talented player but when teams push for a lot of trophies and want to do it consistently, they have to constantly upgrade on what they already have, and with the attacking midfielder about to enter his 30?s and Julian Draxler probably arriving in the summer, was it a risk to sign him up for a new contract?

The Spaniard’s performances this season haven’t been as dominant as his first in England, so it would be fair to see if he has regressed slightly.

Last season, Cazorla scored 12 goals in 38 league appearances. So far this season, he’s scored just four goals in 23 games. Plenty of time to improve on his four but it is highly unlikely that he’ll reach his previous total.

The most striking figure that separates last season to this is the number of chances he created. After 23 games this season, Cazorla has completed 41 key passes but he finished last season with 95 – that’s an average of 2.59 per 90 minutes compared to 1.95 p/90mins this season.

Santi Cazorla comparison matrix

Cazorla’s number of shots have reduced per 90 minute average too. Last season, the Spanish attacking midfielder attempted 3.14 shots per 90 minutes while this season, he has reduced his shooting, hitting on average, 2.71 every 90 minutes. In total, this season’s Cazorla has hit 57 shots.

Santi Cazorla comparison matrix

He has also become a little more sloppy in possession and has made two errors leading to shots, while in the whole of last season he didn’t make a single error in that department.

This season, one of his errors has even led to a goal being conceded.

His confidence on the ball has slightly reduced, too, having completed fewer take-ons and at a lower success rate. Last season, he was averaging 2.34 successful take-ons every 90 minutes, but this season, the Spaniard is only at 1.52. It’s not a huge difference when averaged out, but over the entirety of a season, it really shows.

Santi Cazorla comparison matrix

So, as you can see, Cazorla’s figures have all dropped since last season. He is certainly a very talented player and important to Arsenal but it may have been a risk to hand him a big, new contract as the signs suggest he may be regressing.

As Arsene Wenger looks set to sign Julian Draxler in the summer, Cazorla may play a more withdrawn role from now on, like Tomas Rosicky. Time will tell if the new contract handed to Cazorla was worthwhile or just an expensive gamble.