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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

The former Arsenal star outperforming Mesut Ozil and every single Gunners midfielder this season

Arsenal's over reliance on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could cost them a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.

Of the 32 goals the Gunners have netted in the top-flight of English football thus far, the Gabon international is responsible for 14 and the next highest is Alexandre Lacazette with five.

Summer signings Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli have both chipped in with three, but there's a worrying lack of goals as well as assists coming from central and attacking midfield.

Premier League top scorer: Who leads the race for the golden boot?

In fact, of all the players who fall into either of the aforementioned categories, only Lucas Torreira has netted a Premier League goal this season and that was a consolation against Liverpool all the way back in August.

One defence of Torreira is it's not his job to score or create. That's down to the likes of Mesut Ozil and Dani Ceballos. The latter certainly caught the eye earlier in the season.

The midfielder - who is on loan from Real Madrid this season - arrived in north London with promising reputation, and after impressing in the 2-1 win over Burnley in August was already being compared to a Gunners favourite.

Santi Cazorla wowed supporters at the Emirates Stadium for many years before injury curtailed his Arsenal career and the Gunners have been looking for a replacement ever since he was released on a free transfer in the summer of 2018.

Early suggestions were that former head coach Unai Emery found Cazorla's heir after pipping north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the signing of Ceballos in the summer transfer window.

The 23-year-old has even played down such claims.

"The king is still Santi Cazorla," he tweeted in response to Squawka. "I still have a lot to learn to become like him."

But an injury in November coupled with a change in head coach has seen Ceballos fail to make a Premier League appearance since the 1-1 draw against Wolves.

Ozil has been a regular in the side during Emery's final days in charge, during Freddie Ljungberg's short stint as interim head coach and since Mikel Arteta was appointed as head coach.

However, the 30-year-old is yet to score and has claimed one assist in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Ceballos hasn't scored a Premier League goal yet nor has he added to the two assists he recorded against Burnley in gameweek two of the new campaign.

Of course the Spaniard has a valid excuse (he can't score or create from the bench), but both players are being outshone by Cazorla who is enjoying a productive season in front of goal.

The 35-year-old, who netted a penalty in Villarreal's 3-1 win over Osasuna at the weekend, has 12 goal involvements (8g, 4a) in 1403 minutes of La Liga action this season which proves he can still cut it at the highest level.

In addition fact there's only one Arsenal midfielder with a goal to his name could be a cause for concern for Arteta.

One solution could be to resign Cazorla in the summer - a transfer which would be popular for a large number of the fanbase.

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