Santi Cazorla left Arsenal this summer in one of the saddest departures from the club in recent memory.
A real fan favourite, his struggles with injury over the past two seasons meant he left the club with a whimper. While many of us hoped for a miracle, the Spaniard is still facing a massive uphill battle to return to the playing field.
While he looks to do that with Villarreal, Arsenal need to find a replacement and that’s not going to be easy.
Here are 10 options for them to consider:
3Marco Verratti
25 and needing no introduction, Verratti is a Rolls Royce player that would fit in at Arsenal seamlessly.
The current Paris Saint-Germain midfielder had a rather underwhelming season last campaign at PSG with Unai Emery unconvinced by his performances, leading to a lot of speculation in the summer.
Veratti stated his desire to stay and fight for his place in the team and he’s done just that with 38 appearances this season, totalling 2,994 minutes.
The 25-year-old Italy international is seen as one of the best deep playmakers and could be a perfect replacement for Cazorla, however now that Emery is the Arsenal manager that might scupper any chances.
The Italian has plenty of experience and could adapt well to Arsenal’s style.
Under contract until 2021, he would not come cheap with his current market value said to be £63m – a figure that doesn’t take into consideration how inflated fees are these days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KMtoGq3pQg