With 25 chances made in the 15 league games that Santi Cazorla had played for Arsenal this season going into the Gunners’ tie with Fulham, there was plenty of people expecting the Spaniard to run riot against the Premier League strugglers. They weren’t disappointed either, as he was instrumental to Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Rene Meulensteen’s men.
Cazorla was on song right from the off and it was clear that he was in the mood to cause some mayhem. During the 90 minutes he created five chances, making three key passes and scored two goals.
His intricate style of play was almost unstoppable for Fulham’s giant centre-back pairing and he continually found pockets of space in and around the box. He had five shots at goal, three of which were from outside the area, and was accurate with over half of his crosses.
The Spain international went on four dribbles and beat his man every time, and was on hand when Arsenal needed defensive contributions – he registered four interceptions and made two clearances, as well as making one tackle.
He was rightly named as man of the match and I don’t think that there would be many people arguing that there was a more deserving player.