Santi Cazorla's skill and vision has not surprised Arsène Wenger this season - but his strength and stamina has.
The Arsenal manager knew he had recruited a richly-talented playmaker
when he signed Cazorla from Malaga last summer and the Spaniard's haul
of 12 goals and seven assists in the Premier League is a fine return for
a debut season.
The influential Cazorla has featured in each of Arsenal's 35 Premier
League games - starting all but one of them - and 92 per cent of all
first-team fixtures. That's a nine-year high for the Gunners and Wenger
says that Cazorla has been just as consistent in training.
"It is absolutely amazing," Wenger told Arsenal Player. "I’ll tell
you something - if you count the number of training sessions he has
missed it will be similar to that [the games he has missed].
"I can’t remember the number of sessions where he had an injury. His
consistency has been remarkable for the games and the training sessions.
And one might explain the other one.
"I was not aware of it [Cazorla's stamina before he signed]," added
Wenger. "I did check the number of games he played but I was not aware
that he would have such stamina in the Premier League.
"I expected him to miss more games because the league is very tough
physically. The duels are tough. It shows he has a remarkable body but
it shows he is intelligent as well because he knows where to go [on the
pitch]."
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