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Football London
Football London
Sport
Josh Williams

Mikel Arteta may have a solution to Arsenal's biggest problem since Santi Cazorla departure

There are various footballing qualities that are highly rated inside the game.

If a player is good at shooting like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, if he's fast like Thierry Henry or if he's a leader like Patrick Vieira, for example - those traits tend to receive plenty of publicity.

Tony Adams' reading of the game is often spoken about, while Dennis Bergkamp developed a reputation for his vision.

One underrated quality that is often overlooked, though, is whether a player is capable with both feet.

Two-footedness can allow players to problem solve and approach situations without limitation. If the most suitable foot to use to play a pass in a certain scenario is the left foot, then use it, and vice-versa - but players are often restricted due to their strict preference to use their favoured foot.

It's a skill Santi Cazorla was so well renowned for during his time at Arsenal. The Spaniard was able to weave his way out of tight spaces using both feet, while also collecting passes from deep or his fellow midfielders on either side.

It was a skill that was key to Arsenal's level of technical play in years gone by and something the current team has been accused of lacking in midfield but also throughout the team.

So who from Arsenal 's current squad is the most two-footed passer?

To capture the two-footedness of each player, the squad has been ranked below from the most two-footed passer at the top, to least two-footed passer at the bottom.

Each player has been judged according to number of touches per left-footed pass and number of touches per right-footed pass.

(@DistanceCovered)

For perspective - receiving a pass, then dribbling, then sending a pass counts as one touch.

David Luiz is Mikel Arteta's most two-footed passer, averaging a right-footed pass every 1.7 touches, and a left-footed pass every 4.9. He's one of the most two-footed passers in England, which is a skill of his that tends to drift under the radar.

The Brazilian defender isn't forced into a mistake using his weaker foot as easily as others, which is often the case when pressing traps materialise as planned. Whatever foot is best to use based on the situation, Luiz seems to opt for it, whereas most of his teammates clearly favour their right, especially fellow centre-back Shkodran Mustafi.

The German defender is Arsenal's least two-footed passer, averaging a total of 37.4 touches before he's made a pass with both his left and right foot.

Once compared to the rest of the division, Mustafi's numbers place him 10th from bottom, with Soktratis 14th from bottom, which perhaps offers an insight into the limitations of the pair.

Overall, of every player who's accumulated over 300 touches in England's top-flight so far this season, of which there are around 300, Luiz places ninth in the entire division.

The 33-year-old is very ambidextrous, placing behind only Chelsea's Fiyako Tomori and Manchester United prospect Brandon Williams once compared with defenders only.

A concern is that Arsenal don't have any other players who place inside the top 30, with Granit Xhaka being the next highest, placing 46th in the Premier League.

Ultimately, though, Luiz doesn't assume much of the spotlight, but his two-footedness is a skill that he deserves plenty of credit for mastering.

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