Cazorla & Flamini Arsenal Weak Links?

Cazorla & Flamini Arsenal Weak Links?

There has been much debate about the reasons for Arsenal’s inconsistent form this year in particular, and this time around, the critics have certainly taken it out on midfielder Santi Cazorla and defensive midfielder Mathieu Flamini, according to Metro.

Cazorla began his career at the Villareal B side, where he played 40 matches, before being signed by the senior side. After 53 appearances, the Spaniard made a season long move to Recreativo, before returning to Villareal for a four-year long spell. He then made a switch to Malaga in 2011, and just after a season, accepted the opportunity of playing for Arsenal. His spell at Arsenal has been erratic, with some exceptional performances combined with some unproductive appearances.


Flamini on the other hand began his career at Marseille’s youth academy before playing one season for the senior side. The 30-year old was part of Arsene Wenger’s squad between 2004 and 2008 before moving to AC Milan under pretty acrimonious circumstances. He went on to represent the Italian outfit on 96 occasions in the league, scoring 7 goals. Arsenal came calling again looking for a defensive minded midfielder, and Flamini was happy to return to the Emirates Stadium.

Both players have been in and out of Wenger’s starting eleven this season, and will need to improve their performances drastically to stay in the team. With January approaching fast, Wenger may want to bring fresh faces if the duo do not start to perform more consistently. However, it seems that Flamini may have fallen further out of favour than Cazorla as the Frenchman has been on the field for many of the team’s weakest defensive situations while Cazorla has at least provided a threat going forward even if his form is not looking as good as it did a year ago.