Arsenal technical director Edu has worked to build a squad that blends both youth with world-class talent. The signing of six young players in the summer all of 23 years or younger, indicated that the first stage of the plan was towards the youthful end of the spectrum.
This could provide a clue as to what upcoming Arsenal transfer windows may look like with the focus now switching to securing some transformative quality figures for the team.
The striker and central midfield positions will both lose quality and depth with Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny all reaching the end of their deals.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will also have just one year remaining on his contract at the end of the season. The position of the striker will need to be a top-quality acquisition to replace the lost goals of the Gabonese and French forwards.
Midfield could become even lighter should Ainsley Maitland-Niles leave and the squad’s youthful look will be bereft of even more experience with Aubameyang, Elneny and Lacazette all gone or soon to leave.
Barcelona’s new head coach and former player Xavi Hernandez is also working with a very young group of players alongside a smattering of experienced heads such as Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.
He has recently made his first transfer move to recruit former teammate Dani Alves after his contract with Sao Paulo was mutually terminated due to a dispute over unpaid salaries.
Barcelona are in need of these iconic players to help inspire and guide the youth towards their goals.
Arsenal too could look into their past at players which could help them in both a playing and coaching perspective.
Xavi joined Barcelona from Qatar side Al-Sadd. There he coached ex-Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla. The Spaniard has become the side’s most crucial figure and despite being 36 years of age is still contributing regularly with goals and assists.
He has one goal and one assist in four matches this campaign. This is built on the 13 goals and 11 assists in 20 league games from last season. Across all competitions, Cazorla recorded 20 goals and 14 assists in 34 games.
Without a doubt, his age would be prohibitive to the level of output at Arsenal but his style and quality would be a great asset. Simply having his presence in the group would be beneficial to Arteta’s dressing room.
Cazorla has previously expressed his desire to return in some capacity in the future.
“I don’t know what I will do next, maybe a coach, maybe a sports director, but I would like to come back,” said Cazorla to Spanish outlet AS in 2020.
Should Arsenal want to add quality and experience in the short term on a low budget, they may not need to look too much further than Santi.
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