With Mesut Ozil being one of the many Arsenal players in the treatment room and the German international possibly out of action until the end of the year, the natural and logicval player to fill his boots for the Gunners would be Santi Cazorla. But it just is not happening for the little Spaniard at the moment.
Cazorla has been largely ineffectual in the last two games against Anderlecht and Sunderland, with his woeful shooting at the Stadium of Light a clear sign that our midfield maestro is low on form and confidence right now. But what should Arsene Wenger do?
An in form Cazorla is a great player to have on the pitch but his all round work rate, especially tracking back, means that if he is not doing his thing on the creative and attacking side of the game, he is a luxury player that we just cannot afford in the tough tests of the Premier League and Champions League.
So maybe it is time to take Santi out of the firing line for a while. Wenger does have the option of playing Alexis or Tomas Rosicky in the central attacking role, while Lukas Podolski, Joel Campbell or the Ox could play on the left. Maybe the boss does not want to damage his confidence any more but it seems harsh to the other Gunners vying for a place to see Santi start when he is not playing well.
What do you think Gooners?