Santi Cazorla wants to return to his scoring consistency of two seasons ago and strengthen Arsenal’s challenge for honors this season.
The Spain midfielder struck seven goals last season and will hope to open his Premier League account this term when Arsene Wenger’s side face Everton at Goodison Park in Liverpool today.
His goal return in last season’s campaign was down on the 12 goals he scored during his first season at the club and, while Cazorla missed out in the narrow opening day win over Crystal Palace, he provided a reminder of his threat with Arsenal’s first goal in the Community Shield win over Manchester City.
“Kicking off a new season in that fashion is always nice — winning a title and also helping by scoring a goal,” Cazorla said. “That keeps your morale high. As I always say, my target is helping the team with goals. I hope to equal or beat my goalscoring tally from last season. That’s something every player wants to achieve. Hopefully, I’ll help the team with many goals because that would be a signal that I can be useful.”
“My first season here was very good. I managed to beat my scoring record — which had been nine with Malaga — with 12 goals,” he said. “Last season I wasn’t so consistent because I struggled with ankle problems after an injury with Spain. For this reason I lacked consistency, but in the end we managed to win a title after so many years, and hopefully this year I’ll be able to give 100 percent physically and mentally in order to lift more trophies.”
Mikel Arteta will miss out on the chance to face his former club after injuring his ankle in the goalless draw with Besiktas in this week’s UEFA Champions League qualifier.
Wenger must decide whether to restore Per Mertesacker to central defense or continue with 19-year-old Calum Chambers in the role.
Mertesacker, along with Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski, was given extended leave after helping Germany to win the World Cup in the summer, but Chambers has impressed in an unfamiliar role following his arrival from Southampton.
Everton collected four points from their two Premier League matches against the Gunners last season, but finished seven points behind Arsenal in the table.
Blues manager Roberto Martinez feels FA Cup-holders Arsenal will be a much better side this season and is predicting an exciting contest at Goodison Park.
“I think this Arsenal side are better than they were last season with the additions they have made, but they’re very similar to us with the philosophy that they have,” Martinez said. “The way Arsenal play has earned a real sense of admiration from people in world football. At Goodison, we really enjoy our football and we can’t wait to get our season started at home from that perspective. I think both teams are going to fight really hard to control the game and get on the ball. The difference is how good you can be in the final third.”
Everton will have Republic of Ireland duo Seamus Coleman and Darron Gibson available for the match.
Rightback Coleman suffered a hamstring problem in pre-season, but came off the bench in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at newly promoted Leicester City, while Gibson is now fit again after suffering a serious knee injury in October last year.
However, Ross Barkley, Bryan Oviedo and Arouna Kone remain long-term absentees.
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