Santi Cazorla Out Till August

The news that Santi Cazorla is set to miss the rest of the season because of his ongoing Achilles injury is a blow, but hardly a surprise. The 32-year-old has been struggling for some time now, has undergone two separate operations, and even his setbacks have had setbacks. He last played for the club in October.

Whenever Arsenal lose a game or go through a bad period, his absence is cited as a key factor. And while there might well be some element of truth to it, the wider issue is that the Gunners’ midfield is still an area of great uncertainty.

In January 2016, Arsene Wenger spent £12 million on Mohamed Elneny, and in May the first big signing of the summer was Borussia Monchengladbach captain Granit Xhaka, brought in for a fee of £35m — just as much as they paid for Alexis Sanchez two years previously.

Market inflation played a part in that, of course, but it was still a significant investment, one that made the Swiss international one of the most expensive Premier League midfielders of all time.

It meant that going into the season they had an impressive array of midfield talent, and variety too. With Mesut Ozil always likely to play as the attacking point of the midfield three, Wenger had any two of Xhaka, Elneny, Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey at his disposal.

On paper it was an impressively strong collection of players, addressing a key area of weakness from previous seasons. Injuries, players getting older and a genuine lack of quality had created a problem for Wenger, and the money he spent adding to his squad in this area looked to be part of a plan to improve things.

However, Wilshere — unhappy at not making the England squad — demanded to leave on loan and that wish, to Bournemouth, was granted. Perhaps it was the fact he had so much else to choose from that Wenger believed it was a good idea, but Wilshere should have been told to stay, get his head down and work his way back into the team.

Ramsey picked up an injury during the first game of the season, and didn’t play again until the end of October. He’s been in and out with muscle strains since. Cazorla had played just 11 games before his season effectively came to an end. Xhaka has been somewhat unfairly labelled a problem because of his red cards, but even if one of them was completely unjustifiable his suspensions have been an issue.

Elneny remains something of a bit-part player, unable to convince Wenger he should feature regularly, while Coquelin’s form has nosedived and it seems he’s only ever at anything near his best when he has Cazorla alongside him.

With all this to contend with, there has been an almost total lack of selection consistency in an area of the pitch that is so vital. Even if they have some issues as a pair, it’s telling that Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi have started the majority of games at centre-half together.

Arsenal have not had that luxury in central midfield. Some of it is to do with availability — the suspensions and injuries have required Wenger to shuffle his pack more than he would like. He has been unable to field a regular duo who combine well.

But part of it is uncertainty. It’s still unclear who is compatible with who. On paper, Xhaka and Ramsey look the best fit, but typically after a couple of games together in which there appeared to be green shoots in the centre of midfield, Ramsey got injured again and Xhaka was sent off leading to a four-match ban.

When people talk about Arsenal’s form, there’s a tendency to focus on individuals, rather than look at what issues might be affecting the collective. Is it any coincidence that the most consistent team this season, Chelsea, is the one with a very obvious first choice central midfield that works well together?

There’s a reason it’s referred to as the “engine-room,” and all the chopping, changing and indecision about Arsenal’s plays a role in a team that is unable to function as well as it can.

Until that issue is solved, and until they can assert control from the busiest, most important area of the pitch, their struggles for form will continue.