by Lewis Ambrose

The financial shackles are off and Arsenal have responded with a world class signing in each summer so far with the arrivals of Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez.

But wait, go back a year.

Based on last season you would say that Arsenal have actually signed a world class player in three consecutive summers, with Santi Cazorla signing from Malaga a year before Özil arrived at London Colney.

The Spanish midfielder cost Arsenal around £15M – a fraction of the fees paid for the two undoubtedly world class talents to join him since – and was worth every penny.

Excited

Seeing those players sign was exciting as a fan, but Cazorla told Amy Lawrence it was just as exciting as a player to see them join the squad.

“I got very excited,” said Cazorla.

Deals for Özil and Alexis have propelled Arsenal to the next level and been followed by consecutive successes in the FA Cup.

“It’s extremely important to see how everyone gets excited because the more players of the calibre of Alexis and Mesut that join, the better I will become as a player and the better the team will become.”

Both players are not only hugely talented but can handle any amount of pressure having previously played for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, and they slotted right in.

“Because of their style of play their games combine together, and the best thing for us is the team is stronger because of it.”

Cazorla himself also fits right in with the two superstars, and possesses the same abundance of footballing intelligence and technical ability that most players could only dream of.

Aspirations

Arsenal are linked with a whole host of players again this summer, and Cazorla thinks we should be aiming to recruit the very best.

“In Europe teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona have some of the best players in the world. It’s something we have to aspire to and try to position ourselves in that sense.”

We want to compete with clubs of that stature, and to do so we need a number of world class players.

Aaron Ramsey is arguably another worthy of that title, but Arsenal have improved beyond any measure by signing three world class stars from Spain in as many summers.

It’s only the beginning.