Wenger is confused as to why the Spaniard doesn’t get more recognition.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger claims that midfielder Santi Cazorla is one of the most underrated players in the Premier League.
The Spaniard has impressed during his first season in England since signing from Malaga in the summer for £16million.
Cazorla has been directly involved in a third of the Gunners’ 71 league goals in 2012/13 and his boss is bemused how the playmaker did not make it into the PFA Team of the Year.
“I think he is a bit of an underrated player in the Premier League,” Wenger told Arsenal’s website.
“When you think he was not in the [PFA] team of the season picked by the players, it’s quite harsh.”
During Arsenal’s 4-1 defeat of Wigan Athletic on Tuesday, the 28-year-old provided the assist for all of the goals and walked away with the Man of the Match award.
In this present Premier League campaign no two players have combined for more goals than Cazorla and Lukas Podolski, with the pair linking up for two efforts against the Latics alone.
The form of the Spain international has been one the main reasons Wenger’s men are in pole position to secure Champions League football ahead of fierce rivals Tottenham.
Cazorla has scored 12 league goals as well as contributing 11 assists and is second only to Theo Walcott in the club’s scoring list for the season.
Despite being among a hugely gifted group of midfielders for the Spain national team, the playmaker’s talent has seen him handed 49 caps for his country.